


Buried Truth's Uncovered: Part 1

by Shadow777997



Series: Buried Truth's Uncovered [1]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alchemy, Anxiety, Aspiring Alchemist female Harry Potter, Beware of Old goats, Beware of Snarky Snakes, But Harriet helps set him right eventually, Dobby get's more time to be awesome, Draco's a bit of a git at at times, Eventual Relationships, Female Harry Potter, Good Malfoy Family (Harry Potter), Harriet steadily becomes a badass, Harry Potter is a Horcrux, Manipulative Albus Dumbledore, Mentor Severus Snape, Multi, Narcissa Malfoy is the best, Not romance-centric, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Parselmagic treated as a hereditary trait instead of some magic gimmick, Protective Slytherins, Slight Ron Weasley Bashing, Slytherin Harry Potter, Slytherin Hermione Granger, Spell Creation (Harry Potter), Voldemort is scheming to overthrow a government
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-09
Updated: 2020-07-14
Packaged: 2021-03-05 05:02:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 56,476
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25158952
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shadow777997/pseuds/Shadow777997
Summary: Harriet Potter always knew she wasn't like other kids her age. For one, weird things always seemed to happen around her that usually resulted in everyone treating her like a freak. At least she still had the snakes to talk to when she didn't have suspicious eyes watching her every move. Snakes always seemed to have at least something interesting to share.Status: Complete
Relationships: Female Harry Potter/ It's a surprise, Other Relationship Tags to Be Added
Series: Buried Truth's Uncovered [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1822585
Comments: 52
Kudos: 393
Collections: Dark Liege Potter, Dr. Potter, The Harry Potters, Voldemort beside a Female Potter





	1. Chapter 1

Harriet Potter was standing before the oven like she was every morning, working while trying to fight the slight anxiety at preventing her relatives' breakfast from getting even slightly burnt. She knew from personal experience how it wouldn’t end well if she let her worry lead to even more burnt and wasted food and another addition to her steadily growing collection of summer bruises her relatives had given her over the last few weeks.

‘ _At least they’re starting to fade enough that sleeping isn’t as painful anymore._ ’ Harriet mused to herself while shifting the last strips of bacon to each of her relatives’ plates alongside the eggs and toast she’d already plated minutes before.

Just as she had set the last of the plates upon the table and was about to move off to the side until her Aunt assigned her morning chores, a loud knock upon the front door sounded through the small house.

“Well? Get the door girl. I won’t have you making us all look rude for your laziness!” Uncle Vernon’s voice boomed through the kitchen, causing Harriet to flinch slightly at the volume before heading over to the door to answer it. The figure in front of her the moment she opened the door however, had her regretting her actions almost immediately upon taking in his appearance.

For one thing, the man was almost certainly crazy, because no sane person would willingly subject themselves to wearing nearly as much black clothing as the man in front of her was.

‘ _It’s like he’s a vampire. No wonder he looks so annoyed, being out in this much sunlight would make anyone with skin that pale annoyed._ ’ Harriet couldn’t help but think to herself.

“C-Can I help you, sir?” The man’s brows furrowed in slight confusion at the stutter from the too small for her age girl in front of him, before smoothing back into a look of barely concealed annoyance.

“I am here to speak with your relatives about a matter of importance.” Severus Prince sneered, questioning why the old goat had forced him of all people to deal with Potter’s brat. ‘ _Surely any of the other staff could have been more than suited for the task of delivering her letter in person._ ’ Severus thought to himself while mourning the interruption of his morning of peace before the hours of brewing he had planned the night before to meticulous detail.

“Of c-course. Aunt Petunia, Uncle Vernon! It’s for you!” She called back into the house, not quite stepping aside yet to let the man inside. ‘ _Not risking letting strangers in again, the bruises took weeks last time I made that mistake._ ’ The girl thought to herself.

Uncle Vernon came barreling out of the kitchen a moment later, face already turning red at his niece’s shouting. “Girl! What have we told you about shouting?! Get out of the way, your Aunt has your list of chores for the morning!”

“Yes Uncle.” Harriet muttered, eyes drawn to her shoes to try to avoid angering him any further.

“Actually. The purpose of my visit involves the girl as well. I’m certain her aunt can spare a few minutes before her chores?” It was less a question and more a statement.

“And what exactly could you possibly want with the girl?” Before Severus could so much as open his mouth to answer, a sharp gasp was heard from the doorway leading to what he presumed was the kitchen.

“ ** _YOU_**!” Petunia whispered harshly, sounding as though she’d seen a ghost. “What in the world are _you_ doing here?!”

Severus smirked, the slightest uptick of the corner of his mouth, enjoying the fact that despite all these years he still could strike such fear in the miserable excuse of a human being that was Lily’s sister. “Hello Tuney, it’s been far too long hasn’t it? Shame I couldn’t make it to your wedding, my invitation must have been lost. I am here today to bring Miss Potter her letter and too take her for her school supplies.”

“Absolutely not! We won’t allow her to go to your freakish school where some crackpot old fool teaches her freakish parlor tricks!” Vernon’s face flushed a deep red as he shouted. Severus noticed out of the corner of his eye how the girl seemed to flinch at the sudden noise, before merely raising his eyebrow in a way that had taken him years to perfect.

“And _how_ pray tell, do you expect to stop her from going, might I ask? The girl has been signed up to attend since the day she was born and she will in fact be going regardless of your desire to prevent her from learning how to control her magic like all students who attend Hogwarts learn to.” Severus informed them of the fact as there was little they could do to actually stop a man like him.

“Excuse me,” The girl spoke up, voice so quiet compared to before that he nearly missed hearing it at all. “What are you talking about? What school? And what’s this about magic? Magic doesn’t exist, it’s just fairy tales.” He turned towards the source, the girl he had spent years despising for the simple fact of who her father was, and felt his brow raise slightly higher. If it went any higher it’d disappear into his oily hairline entirely.

“Of course magic exists foolish girl.” He sneered looking her in the eye, only just noticing the startling shade of green they were. ‘ _Like the killing curse that nearly ended her life all those years ago_.’ He thought to himself, before shaking away his thoughts once more. “Do you mean to inform me," His tone cold. "That you were not told prior to today about the world you and your parents were from? That you were not told even the slightest detail about the magic you no doubt have utilized in the past however accidental?” Severus spoke quietly, but the silence in the room allowed his voice to be heard clearly.

“Wait, do you mean th-that the weird stuff that always h-happens is magic? And w-what world are you talking about? My aunt and uncle always told me my parents were no good drunks who died in a car crash when I was a baby.” Other than a slight stutter (which she would praise herself on managing to limit as well later), Harriet could hear the shock in her own voice clearly, but couldn’t quite bring herself to care in the moment.

The resulting silence felt like the calm before a storm. Severus was beside himself in rapidly increasing cold fury at the very notion that the ‘Girl-Who-Lived’ had spent her entire life unknowing of the truth, unknowing of the sacrifice Lily paid with her own life to protect her daughter from the madman he once served loyally. His face held a look of thunderous rage upon it before he slammed his occlumency barriers shut upon his mind in order to reign his storming emotions in quickly and his face smoothed itself back behind a mask of calmness a moment later.

“I can assure you, Miss Potter, that your parents most certainly did not die in a car crash as you have been told. Nor were either of them ‘no good drunks’ as you have been raised to believe.” Harriet could hear the quotation marks around ‘no good drunks’ and could hear the disdain the man felt at the very idea. 

“Your mother and father were wizards in fact. As for the world they lived in, I am referring to the Wizarding world of course, as your mother was among the most gifted witches of her year and your father, though I loathed to admit, was among the more talented wizards at the time.” Severus could taste the bit of bile that seemed to come up at the mere mention of James being anything but the bane of his existence.

“My parents were…” Harriet couldn’t even finish the sentence, the shock she felt was so intense that it left her literally unable to form words.

“Indeed. And like your mother, you yourself are a witch and will be attending Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry this year beginning on September 1st. Today however, I am to take you to Diagon Alley for your necessary supplies including your wand.” Severus wanted to feel annoyed at the girl’s confusion, but was reminded of his memory of telling a young Lily Evans when they were both children that the things she could do were magic, and instead could only feel slight amusement at the identical look of growing wonder in the girl’s emerald eyes that her mother once held in her own so long ago. ‘ _Merlin’s beard, what have I gotten myself involved in this time?_ ’ Severus questioned himself about the possible chaos that is James Potters’ spawn will cause soon enough, and asked himself not for the first time if it was worth the look of disappointment his best friend would have if he just drowned himself in a bottle of Fire Whiskey. ' _This is the last time I allow the old man to convince me to do something of this nature._ '

"SHE WON'T BE GOING!!" The girl's uncle thundered, face turning a deep shade of purple. Severus noticed that the girl flinched violently at the shout, leaving him even more suspecting about her past. ' _Its like she's expecting to be beaten at any moment...Albus, what have you done now?!_ ' He felt the feeling of growing horror settle in the pit of his stomach at the realization that the Girl-Who-Lived was almost certainly being abused at home. "We swore the day that she was left on our doorstep that we would beat the freakishness out of her if needed! She will not be going to some school in order to learn more freakish tricks!!"

She noticed that the man had pulled a slim stick of dark wood from his sleeve and jabbed it into her Uncle's chin, causing him to slam into the wall as he tried to back away, a look of fear in his eyes.

"Give me a reason. I _beg_ you. _Just one._ " The man spoke quietly, his voice like ice on the air. He turned his attention to her the next moment. "Is there anything you wish to bring with you, Miss Potter? I don't imagine you'll be returning here anytime soon if I have any say in the matter." She just shook her head in the negative, eyes wide in shock at the man's words. ' _I don't have to come back here? This is starting to feel like a dream.._ '

"Oh!" She darted back into the cupboard that served as her room for the last 9 years, reaching under the small mattress for the loose floorboard, beneath which she kept the only two things she actually managed to keep from her relatives from finding over the years. A small pile of rounded stones that she'd always been able to levitate freely, and a tattered copy of her favorite book that she'd found in the neighbor's giveaway box. 'The Alchemist'. She'd read it so many times over the years since she'd smuggled it into her cupboard that it was literally falling apart. She loved the pictures of magic that flowed through her mind as she read about mythology coming to life. 

Shoving the handful of stones into her too big pants pocket, and tucking the book under her arm, she stepped back into the hallway where her relatives were too focused on the man still keeping her uncle at 'WandPoint' (assuming that's actually what the stick was) against the wall to notice the book. 

Severus noted the meager belongings of the girl and felt his brow inching higher at the title of the book she was holding. 

“If you would follow me at once, we will depart immediately.” Severus stepped back from the walrus of a man, lowering his wand, and stepped back through the doorway to the front lawn of the, frankly, sickeningly dull house and waited a moment as Potter stepped out of the house she grew up in for the last decade.

“Hold onto my arm tightly and do not let go. I am going to apparate us directly outside of where we will then enter the Alley where you will find the supplies upon your list.” Harriet hesitated for a moment, slightly nervous at the idea of what sounded like a form of teleporting from the way he described suddenly appearing in front of a different place, before she did as he told her and gripped his indicated arm firmly. Before she could blink, he turned on his heel sharply and they were gone.


	2. Shopping, Bossy Snakes, and Exploding Wands

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harriet goes to Diagon Alley and uncovers the first several of many secrets regarding her connection to the Dark Lord as well as some bits regarding her parent's past. And get's a snake. Can't forget the snake, he'd pout for a week if I ignored him.

Harriet felt as though she were being pulled through a straw, everything seemingly crushing in on her at once, before the feeling subsided enough for her to notice the change of location. She stumbled to the side the moment her world felt like it wasn’t being pressed into a too small opening, slamming her eyes shut as waves of nausea crashed into her at once.

“Most wizards have a similar reaction the first time they apparate, though it does get easier with experience and practice.” Severus told the girl beside him who just nodded slightly and kept her eyes closed while waiting for the momentary nausea to pass again.

“That was probably the _worst_ thing I’ve ever felt. Why would wizards willingly go through that in the first place?!” She was baffled that anyone would want to go through such an experience enough to ‘get used to it’ as the man she still didn’t even know the name of mentioned.

Severus merely smirked slightly at her annoyance over the questionable method of magical transportation, before it was gone as quick as it had appeared behind his usual blank mask.

“Oh! I just remembered, I never actually asked you for your name. I’m so sorry!” The girl looked nearly panicked at the mere thought, as though she were afraid she’d offended him in some way.

Severus’ face was blank behind his mask, but internally his anger was boiling at the reminder of the picture he had had painted in his mind by the Headmaster of the girl being spoiled rotten by her relatives was not at all the truth. ‘ _It’s like she’s expecting to be beaten over the slightest mistake or lapse in manners. Just what did her relatives do to her all these years?_ ’

“Don’t be foolish girl, a brief lapse in manners in the face of such a morning would be expected of anyone in your situation. As for who I am, My name is Professor Severus Prince, the Potions master at Hogwarts.” That same flash of wonder briefly showed again in the girl’s eyes as soon as he mentioned potions.

“Wizards actually brew potions? I read in a bunch of fantasy books about mages who would brew potions that could do nearly anything it seemed! It always sounded amazing if a bit complicated and stressful since the slightest mistake could spell disaster. Do you also have anything like alchemy?” Harriet stopped herself from rambling when she noticed out of the corner of her eye that they were still surrounded by people and blushed slightly when she realized she’d been rambling.

“Sorry, not the best place to talk about this stuff probably.”

“If you had taken a moment to look around,” Severus muttered. “You would have noticed how muggles actively avoid the area outside the building we are in front of. They cannot even see us so long as we are standing in front of it. Which reminds me, a notice-me-not would be appropriate for the situation before we encounter any of your endearing fans once they notice whom exactly is among them.”

“What? Why would anyone care if I’m here? I've never even met anyone from the wizarding world before?” Severus truly was beginning to hate today. ‘ _Of course I would have to be the one to explain to the girl-who-lived why she’s famous._ ’

“It would seem an explanation is in order for you to know exactly why most of our society, upon meeting you, would swarm for your attention.” Just then, Professor Prince flicked his wrist and the same wooden stick from earlier flew out of his sleeve and into his hand, before he flicked it in her direction.

Harriet suddenly felt as though a bucket of cold water had been poured over her head, causing her to shiver at the feeling.

“There, now you will be able to avoid drawing attention to yourself from others. The moment someone has spotted the scar upon your face, they would have swarmed you like bloodhounds." She couldn't stop the shudder at the sound of that "Now stick close to me Miss Potter, while I find a table to explain some rather important details about your past.” Severus then turned to enter the dingy pub in front of them, Harriet following after him immediately. He quickly spotted a table in the corner of the room that had no patrons near it for now before guiding her to it and taking a seat himself.

It was here that he explained to the girl about how she was famous throughout the entire wizarding world from the time she was barely a year old. About a powerful wizard known as the Dark Lord had waged war upon the entire world and had murdered her parents on the night of 'Samhain' in 81. About how she was somehow able to vanquish the most dangerous and powerful wizard in history at an age where she wasn’t even able to walk on her own let alone use any magic by causing his curse to rebound upon him and destroy the most dark wizard in history.

Harriet was in shock to say the least. “My p-parents were murdered? By a madman? A madman the world seems to think _I_ destroyed?! That’s...impossible! How can a _baby_ be assumed to be the vanquisher of the most dangerous wizard in history?! I was _**ONE**_! It sounds ridiculous.” She was increasingly annoyed by how seemingly idiotic the wizarding world could be if they worshiped a baby as their savior.

Severus found himself agreeing in his thoughts with the girl over the sheer ridiculousness of the situation. ‘ _Well, it seems she’s not the sort to crave attention from others at the least. Perhaps she’s more like her mother than she is her father. One can only hope.._ ’ Severus couldn't help but hope to himself.

“Indeed, it is rather silly a notion to witness the world worshiping a child as they do you. However that doesn’t make the truth any less real.”

It was at that moment Harriet remembered something the man in front of her mentioned briefly.

“Professor, you said back at my relatives that you ‘loathe to admit my father was a talented wizard’, like you knew him personally. D-did you know my parents yourself?” She couldn’t help but ask the man in front of her, who seemed to sigh at the question in resignation and...regret?

“Indeed. I attended Hogwarts with both of them in the same year, in fact. Your mother and I were, for several years, best friends since we grew up down the road from each other. I was actually the one who explained to her how the things she could do were in fact magic. She was easily the brightest witch of her year, your mother. Perhaps one of the brightest and most talented Hogwarts has produced in the last 50 years at least.” Harriet had a look of awe on her face at the new information about her mother.

“Your father, however, and I did not get along nearly as well.” Harriet frowned slightly at this. “He was begrudgingly a talented wizard, I will admit, much like your mother. No average wizard could become an animagus as young as he did." She filed the information away for later. "However he was also known for being arrogant, and was rather fond of tormenting the Slytherins around the school, myself included. Both he and your mother were Gryffindors in fact, so the disdain he held for my house was not entirely unexpected even if your mother did not share his low opinion for the house of serpents.” He spent a few minutes explaining the different houses at Hogwarts and the traits they represent most.

“It sounds like my dad was a bit of a bully then, wasn’t he? If he picked on other students like that? I’m sorry he tormented you like that, Professor.” Severus raised an eyebrow at that and she was quick to explain her words. “It’s just, I hate bullies, sir. I grew up being teased and made fun of back in primary school by other students because of the way I was dressed in Dudley's old clothes and my scar and how I always preferred reading over playing with the other kids during recess." Severus couldn't help but feel a touch of empathy at the girl's words. "And even if he was my dad, that doesn’t excuse that he was seemingly also a bully throughout school. So, I’m sorry you had to endure his tormenting like you did. Because I doubt he ever actually apologized to you for it. No one deserves being treated poorly or harassed by classmates like that.”

To say Severus was shocked would be an understatement indeed. ‘ _I tell her that her father hated Slytherins and rather than try and defend him, she apologies for his behavior on his behalf! Despite it hardly being her fault the man was a bastard towards those he didn’t like_.’ Severus was left briefly confused at how the girl in front of him could possibly feel sorry for him of all people being the subject of her own father’s torment until he's reminded that she's as much her mother's daughter as she is her father's. ‘ _Perhaps she’s not an arrogant Gryffindor like her father afterall…’_

“I see.” Severus was briefly wondering if his brain had suffered a complete shutdown at the idea of sympathy from Potter’s spawn of all people. “Regardless, we still have a rather long day of shopping ahead of us starting with a visit to the wizarding bank to withdraw enough money for your supplies.”

“B-but I don’t have any money, especially not any in a wizarding bank?”

“It may surprise you to learn, Miss Potter, but your parents did indeed leave you a substantial trust fund before they were killed that was to be utilized for your years at Hogwarts as well as several family vaults that you will be able to access upon your majority at the age of 17.” The look of shock on the girl’s face had him fighting to keep the slight smirk behind his blank mask.

* * *

It was when they stepped through the entrance to Diagon after Severus demonstrated how to open the entrance for future trips once she had her own wand, that he noticed the another troubling sign that something might be amiss with the girl.

The moment she stepped out of the dingy pub and into the magic filled alley, she stumbled over her feet as though struck by a strong force. Thinking back on it, he thought of how she seemed more green than she should have been after they apparated and how that look of nausea only seemed to grow slightly after they entered the Leaky Cauldron. ‘ _It’s as though the surrounding magic itself is rendering her sick when the amount of exposure increases drastically. Almost as though she’s…_ ’ Severus felt as though a brick wall had crashed into him at once. _‘Dammit Albus! Any child born to magical parents and with magic themselves would be left in a state of physical shock at suddenly being exposed to such a vast amount of magic after years isolated from it. The girl's probably developed a case of magic sensitivity after all these years living apart from magic.’_

He stopped her from swaying any further on her feet with a hand on her shoulder, before directing them both to a nearby table off to the side outside of what looked like a restaurant of some sort.

“Wait here while I look for something that should help with the nausea you are no doubt experiencing. I'll explain in a moment.” He then, upon seeing the slight affirmative nod that she had heard him, turned towards a nearby shop advertising a number of charms and trinkets before walking away, though not before subtly checking that the effects of the notice-me-not were still strong.

* * *

A few minutes of questioning later and Severus had left the shop with precisely what he had been looking for. ‘ _Dammit Albus, you knew full well the effects magical isolation can have on a child yet still sent me without any precautions for dealing with it. It's like he_ wanted _her to be left in a state of severe shock._ ’ He thought to himself, wondering not for the first time if he should just set fire to the meddling old goat’s hideously colored robes.

Returning to where he had left nauseated child, it was to the sight of Potter with her head resting on the table in front of her while none other than Narcissa Malfoy was sitting next to her and speaking quietly, overall looking concerned about the young girl’s well being. ‘ _Merlin’s balls, she already looks ready to adopt the girl and I was only gone for 5 minutes. Narcissa’s maternal instincts aren’t going to allow her to ignore a child in any distress. Then again they are both members of the house of Black regardless of how distant in Potter’s case and nothing is as important to Narcissa than family. I wouldn't be surprised if she already knew the fact upon recognizing the girl._ ’

“Potter, this should help ease the nausea. It would seem that you’ve developed over the years a sensitivity to large amounts of latent magical energy in your surroundings. Hence the nausea you felt upon apparating for the first time and the increase to it upon entering the Leaky Cauldron." The girl nodded from he place face-down against the table.

"It’s relatively rare to occur, but it has been known to happen in children who share similar experiences as yourself. Namely being left in an isolated, magical-free, environment for years at a time only to be thrown into a situation where they are bombarded by frankly massive levels of latent magical energy.” He handed the girl a charm bracelet with 3 charms on it, each covered in different runes when she lifted her head from the table looking none the better. Narcissa raised an eyebrow at the bracelet, taking noticed of the extra charms dangling from it, but smoothed her expression behind her mask a second later as the girl took the bracelet and secured it to her wrist looking marginally better a few seconds later as the charms started to ease the nausea caused by the influx of magic.

"The charm attached to the bracelet which resembles a potion bottle will aid in limiting the amount of surrounding magic your body is given to process at one time, thus it should help prevent bouts of extreme nausea such as what happened when you entered the Alley from happening as often. Think of it as similar to a air filter in a muggle building used to reduce how much air pollution slips by." She nodded her head in understanding at the muggle comparison.

"What about the other two? Do they do anything special as well?" She found herself curious about the little charms dangling beside the tiny potion bottle. A pair of crossed wands and what looked like a small book. He nodded his head at the question, suspecting he wouldn't get away with not explaining his somewhat impulsive decision to add in the two charms.

"Ah, those." Narcissa smirked slightly at the way he sounded slightly exasperated at having to explain himself. "The wands are a protective charm that will shield you from harm caused by most first year spells," The noble woman had the gall to smirk wider at that. "While the book contains a basic mental enhancement charm. Allowing you to have less trouble recalling different bits of information that you may absorb as you no doubt learn more about the society you now find yourself a part of." The girl actually looked thankful of the small gift.

' _Merlin's beard! Not 30 minutes after meeting the girl and I'm already being somewhat nice. This is your influence Lily, I swear!_ ' He looked skyward briefly as though he were asking for strength from whatever god may have mercy upon his suffering.

“Ah, Severus! Miss Potter mentioned how you were the one escorting her around Diagon today for her supplies. I figured she could use the company while waiting for your return, not realizing who she was at first. So imagine my surprise when I found out you of all people were serving as her guide to our society.” Severus had a look of slight annoyance at the shit-eating smirk on his friend’s face in her amusement at the mere idea.

“Lady Malfoy was telling me about how her son was starting at Hogwarts this year too. When I mentioned you were the one helping me today she mentioned having to ‘twist your arm’ to get you to let her help with my shopping while you went to deal with the goblins and my vault. I told her she didn’t have to worry about it as you were being more than helpful so far and that she didn’t need to interrupt her day with her son.” Harriet had the gall to smirk at the mention of Narcissa twisting his arm, but at the same time had a look of worry that she’d caused a problem of some sort.

“Nonsense my dear, I’m certain dear Severus wouldn’t mind at all splitting up to handle your money while we go to get you your supplies. After all I imagine there are a few matters he has to discuss privately with the goblins that will take longer than expected, right Severus?” At the look on her face he realized that she was right and that there were other matters of concern now that the truth about Potter’s upbringing was slowly coming to light around him and he was left suspicious about just how far the meddling old goat’s manipulations had spread.

He wasn’t the least bit surprised that Narcissa seemed to have figured out something was amiss regarding the Headmaster’s handling of the girl’s upbringing. ‘ _That woman could smell a neglected child from a mile away._ ’ Regardless of her cold reputation and ruthlessness, Severus knew first hand that Narcissa would duel the Dark Lord himself rather than allow any child with magical blood to suffer at the hands of muggles.

“Of course Narcissa, how silly of me to forget those concerns. Would you mind terribly, paying for the girl’s supplies until I can have access to her funds restored to her? I’m certain she has more than enough money to pay you back the moment I return.” He questioned, knowing full well Narcissa would never let the girl try and pay back the money seeing as the woman already was looking at her as though she were the daughter she never had. ‘ _Her value in family will result in spoiling her cousin rotten if she has her way. And by the look on the girl’s face, she’s wise enough to realize that she’s not going to win any battle against the woman._ ’ Severus couldn’t help but feel slightly amused at the look of defeat on Potter’s face at being unable to stop Narcissa from offering to pay for everything.

“Excellent! Then we’ll split up and meet back at Florean’s in say 2 hours?” The woman questioned, seeing nods of agreement from the two.

After Severus left towards the bank, the two women headed in the direction of Madam Malkin’s Robes of all Occasions for Harriet’s school robes and a new, better fitting wardrobe at Narcissa's insistence upon taking note of the girl's ill-fitting clothes. 

* * *

They soon left the shop, now plus the youngest Malfoy, several set's of school robes, and a dozen new outfits for the raven haired girl. Draco was currently talking excitedly about Quidditch after they struck up a friendly conversation about Hogwarts and how Professor Prince was actually the boy’s godfather and she mentioned he was the one who had been escorting her around the Alley before Lady Malfoy took over.

Harriet could tell the boy wasn't used to talking to other kids his age who weren't part of the upper branches of wizarding society like his family were. But she did notice him putting in an honest effort to relate to her and not subconsciously talk down to her like he may have to others in the past. She was already feeling somewhat found of the blonde, even if he could sound a bit like a git when talking about muggleborn children.

She had taken the time to calmly explain that not having magical parents didn't make someone any less of a person or a wizard, and even brought up how her own mother had apparently been top of her class at Hogwarts despite being muggleborn. The boy had the decency to look slightly ashamed at that and promised her that he would start trying to keep a more open mind at least about muggleborn students, which was more than she was expecting he'd offer honestly.

* * *

The three headed to Flourish and Blotts to purchase their school books they would need that year while Harriet also decided to buy several history and wizarding culture books, hoping to catch up over the rest of the summer on how the wizarding world worked as well as a book on the history of potions and Alchemy. She was too occupied with purchasing her books to notice the slight smirk on Lady Malfoy’s, or Cissa as she insisted the girl call her, face at the books she had picked out.

‘ _That girl is going to be Severus’ favorite student I can tell already._ ’ The woman mused to herself, amused at the idea as she picked up a book on runes for her son, seeing as the boy had developed a fondness for the subject over the summer.

* * *

Then it was off to a nearby shop that sold different types of trunks so that the two students would have something to store their belongings away while at Hogwarts.

Here 'Cissa' took over and purchased two trunks enchanted with several expansion charms to allow for as much storage as they could want, Harriet picking out a sleak grey one with black detailing while Draco had picked out a ssolid black trunk with matching silver detailing, while also having several helpful charms added to make carrying them around easier including feather light, shrinking, and Harriet’s personal favorite Muggle repellent charms.

If Narcissa subtly had an entire compartment enchanted with stasis charms for potion ingredients in Harriet’s trunk without the girl noticing while Draco was questioning her about how it was like living among muggles, then no one can fault her for wanting to encourage her new favorite cousin’s interests in the subject.

* * *

Passing Slug and Jitters Apothecary with a comment from Cissa about how Professor Prince would cover that part of their lists himself seeing as he knew firsthand the ideal supplies to purchase for above average and even advanced potion brewing, the second to last stop of the day being Ollivander’s to acquire their wands.

Seeing as Draco’s father had already gotten him an owl that was perhaps the single most vicious and grumpy looking bird Harriet had ever seen when he met up with the three outside of Ollivander’s shop, the 4 decided to go in as one group with the adults curious as to the exact wands that would choose the two children.

The sound of a bell chiming over the door was heard the moment they stepped into the shop but Harriet noticed that no such bell was actually present when she glanced up to where the sound originated. ‘ _Magic is neat_.’ The girl couldn’t help thinking to herself.

“Ah! Good afternoon Lord and Lady Malfoy, heir Malfoy. And how curious it is that young Miss Potter is with you as well this day, I had a feeling I would be seeing her in my shop any day now.” A tall figure emerged from the back of the shops with a look of joy on his face when he noticed Harriet, his white hair sticking out in a way that resembled static running through it.

“A pleasure, Mister Ollivander. We’re here to purchase Draco's wand as well as Miss Potter’s as well.” Lucius Malfoy stated calmly.

“Of course, of course. One moment.” 15 minutes after measuring the two children’s wand arms and roughly a dozen attempts later, Draco was left with a Hawthorn wand, 10 inches, with a unicorn hair core as described by Ollivander. “A wand fit for a complex wizard but faithful to it's master. I believe we can expect interesting things from you mister Malfoy, and possibly a number of great things as well.” Draco looked pleased at this.

It was surprising then, after Draco's wand picked him so quickly, when after nearly half an hour of trying out wand after wand and increasingly destroying Ollivander’s shop, which Harriet felt increasingly guilty over, Ollivander seemed to get an almost manic glint in his eye, having grown increasingly excited with each failure.

“A tricky customer eh? Well not to worry Miss Potter, I believe I have just the wand for you.” The questionably sane old wizard darted to the back of his shop the next moment and after the sounds of several boxes being tossed around met their ears, emerged from the shelves with a box covered in dust.

“I wonder….Holly, with a phoenix tail feather, 11 inches, nice and supple. A most unusual combination indeed. Well, go on. Give it a flick.” Ollivander offered after Harriet had taken the wand from it’s box. The moment her fingers wrapped around the handle of the wand however, a feeling of warmth seemed to briefly surge up her arm before the feeling became an intense burning sensation like fire and the wand seemed to vibrate in her hand for a few moments before exploding into pieces.

Harriet couldn’t stop the gasp of pain from escaping her mouth as several splinters of wood embedded themselves in her hand, leaving several drops of blood flowing onto the floor of the shop as she clutched her hand in an attempt to stop it from shaking in pain.

“Oh my! I’ve never had a wand react quite that violently before in all the years I’ve crafted them.” The old wandmaker stated as Cissa used her own wand to vanish the splinters of wood from the girl’s hand and heal the wounds. It was then that he spotted the still intact surprisingly undamaged fiery red tail feather resting on the floor amidst the remaining splinters of wood.

“How curious that it would seem the core would choose the wizard while the wood would be rejected…” He muttered to himself as Harriet looked up at him in slight confusion.

“Um, w-what’s curious?”

“I remember every wand I’ve ever crafted Miss Potter, every one of them, and it just so happens that the phoenix whose tail feather has chosen you, shed one other feather, only one. It is most curious then, that it’s brother would reside within the wand that I’m afraid, gave you that scar.” He commented, gesturing to the large, lightning shaped scar running down the left side of her face, narrowly missing her eye by less than an inch that Professor Prince had revealed earlier was caused by the wizard who tried to kill her 10 years ago.

“You mean, T-the Dark Lord’s wand?” She asked, stuttering slightly from nervousness at the idea of the man's wand possessing the twin core that had chosen her. The family behind her shared subtle looks of shock and surprise at that revelation, though Harriet was too distracted to notice.

“Indeed. If you will follow me, we can see about finding the proper wood for your wand and I can craft it within the next hour.” He guided Harriet towards the back of the shop where they entered a small side room filled with several tables holding dozens of piles of what she noticed were different types of what she guessed were wand wood.

“Now then, close your eyes and allow your magic flow freely and to choose the wood for you.” She did as he instructed and tried letting her magic flow loosely and allowing it to choose for her. After going around the different tables and picking what seemed to stand out to her most, she passed the four pieces of wood to the man.

“Most unusual indeed. This may be, perhaps the most unique wand I have ever crafted Miss Potter. Return in an hour and it will be ready.” Harriet could see a look of curiosity at the nature of the woods her magic had led her towards as well as what could only be excitement at the idea of crafting such a unique wand.

After returning to the front of the shops and informing the Malfoy’s what Ollivander told her, the 4 left to meet up with Professor Prince at Florean’s since it had been just over two hours since they’d separated.

* * *

Upon spotting the man in question, Harriet was passed a small pouch that he explained was magically linked to her trust vault, and that she only needed to think of the amount she desired and it would appear within the bag.

“I take it that the other matters of importance have been dealt with, Severus?” Narcissa questioned.

“Indeed, and they appear to be more troubling than I anticipated. Miss Potter, we will need to return tomorrow morning to discuss with the goblins several factors that have come to light regarding several of your family’s accounts. The goblins noted that by then they would have the exact details sorted and ready for your personal viewing.” Harriet’s eyes widened in shock at that.

“What do you mean by that? Is there something wrong?”

“I am uncertain as to the extent but it will be easier to allow the goblins to explain the exact nature of the discrepancies they have uncovered themselves.” She nodded at that figuring he had a point there.

“Here, before I forget, these are the necessary supplies you will both be needing for my class once the term starts.” He then handed over two small stacks of different potions textbooks as well as two storage boxes containing all of the ingredients they would need to supply themselves. “You will also find 2 books apiece that were not included on your lists which detail several helpful, and advanced, tips for improving the qualities of the various potions you will be attempting to brew this year. It wouldn’t do to have either of you suffering poor marks in my class simply because the Headmaster deems potions an unimportant subject.” The look of excitement on the girl’s face at the mention of advance potion books left him feeling amused at the similarity between her and her mother when they were in school. ‘ _She’s most certainly Lily’s daughter.._ ’

“Hey Potter, have you gone and gotten an owl yet? They’re pretty useful for carrying your mail and delivering letters you know?” Draco questioned his new friend. At this the girl frowned slightly at the reminder of a lack of recipients to any letters she would send.

“Well I don’t really have a lot of need for an owl right now, seeing as I don’t have many friends really. Plus I’d be worried about my Uncle’s reaction to an owl living in his house if I end up going back there. He’d probably kill the poor thing.”

“Well if that’s the problem you could always leave it with us over the summer if you wish? We’d be happy to keep it safe until the term begins if you’d like?” Cissa offered.

“That’s very kind of you Cissa, but I still don’t really have any need for an actual owl though. Draco’s about the only friend I’ve made so far here and there’s not much need to send him letters during the school year is there? Maybe at the end of the year that will change and I can look into getting an owl then.” At this Narcissa nodded her head slightly, admitting that the girl had a point.

“Perhaps a different pet then? We can head to the Magical Menagerie and see if they have any that you’d be interested in if you like?” Lucius offered.

“Well, if you don’t mind the extra stop I greatly appreciate the offer Mr. Malfoy.” Harriet couldn’t help but perk up at the thought of getting her own pet. “Oh! Do you think they have any snakes at the shop?” Severus raised an eyebrow at that, amused that the girl seemed to have an interest in reptiles. ' _If she's anything but a Slytherin, I'll drink tea with Sybill._ ' He thought to himself.

“A snake? That’s a bit unusual of a pet to be interested in.” Narcissa commented, feeling amused at the girl’s look of joy at just the mention of the creatures.

“What? I like snakes. They’re good conversationalists when my aunt has me helping tend to the gardens back home.”

The three adults shared a look at that bit of information, suspecting just what ‘help’ the girl’s Aunt had her do.

* * *

Upon entering the pet shop and questioning the owner about any reptiles they may be selling, the group went off in the direction the owner guided them towards where the different species of magical snakes were kept.

Standing amidst the two rows filled with various sized tanks holding a number of different kinds of reptiles, Harriet could hear a particularly annoyed sounding one towards the middle of the aisle.

~ _ **Annoying humanss...alwayss sstaring at uss like we’re displayss for their amusssement.**_ ~

Harriet couldn’t help but giggle at the grumpy sounding reptile. Said snake lifted it’s head in her direction, seemingly confused at her laughter.

~ _ **You! You can undersstand me?! You are a Sspeaker?! I have never met a Sspeaker before..**_ ~

At this several other snakes started speaking over each other, questioning the girl in question, only for the grumpy one she was in front of to silence them with a threat of eating them if they didn’t quiet down at once.

~ _ **Of course I can. We’re speaking English aren’t we? And what do you mean by a Speaker?**_ ~ Harriet hissed quietly, not noticing the fact she was not in fact speaking English nor the looks of shock on the faces of the three adults behind her.

“Miss Potter,” Professor Prince spoke up at that moment, drawing her attention from the now annoyed looking snake, the man’s voice sounding slightly strained. “You can speak to snakes?”

“Um, y-yes? Why? Is it not common in the wizarding world?” Harriet questioned, confused at the looks on their faces.

“It most certainly is not a common trait to possess, no. Your ability is known as Parsletongue, which also makes you a Parselmouth. It is a rather rare trait among wizards that very few have been known to possess. It has, unfortunately, acquired a rather unjust reputation among lighter circles as being a dark form of magic, however,” He added at the look of concern showing on her face.“It is in fact not a dark art in any way." She looked relieved at that.

"The reputation it holds is due to the fact that there has only been one other wizard born in the last 50 years known to possess the same ability as you do. The same wizard whom I have been told you share a wand core with.” ‘ _Well_ ’, Harriet thought to herself, ‘ _that’s not ominous at all.'_

“You mean the D-Dark Lord was a Parslemouth as well?”

“He was indeed. It is important to note however, that despite claims stating otherwise, being a Parselmouth is not something that can be learned or acquired as a quirk of magic, and is thus hardly deserving of the harsh reputation attributed towards it. It is a rarely known fact that a Parselmouth is in fact born as they are, due to the appearance of a physically manifested genetic trait that typically lies dormant in others born into families with a known history of possessing the trait.” Severus paused for a moment, sorting through the brief amount of knowledge he had managed to gleam from the Dark Lord himself about the subject in his years of service.

“As such, you are more than likely descended from a family that, in some way, is linked to a different line which possesses a history of producing Parselmouths and as such must have simply inherited the rarer, active, variant of the trait rather than the dormant variant several members of your family no doubt unknowingly possessed as well.” Harriet couldn’t help but wonder who among her family possessed the same trait she did, and decided to shelve the thought for later when she had a chance to do a bit more research privately.

“It would be a wise notion, Miss Potter, to consider carefully who you trust with the knowledge of your ability. Many wizards have developed a harsh opinion of some degree or another over the years in light of the Dark Lord’s use of the trait, and thus it could be a hindrance to yourself if it becomes public that you share the same ability.” Harriet couldn’t help but agree with the man’s reasoning. ‘ _No need to give them a reason to see me as a freak like my relatives already do._ ’

Turning back to the snake, she asked for his name.

~ _ **I do not have one, young Sspeaker. Give me one at once!**_ ~

‘ _Well then, someone’s certainly bossy._ ’ She thought to herself, amused at the grumpy serpent in front of her.

“He’s rather grumpy for a snake. I didn’t even know snakes could be grumpy before today, though if I were stuck being stared at inside a cage all day surrounded by irritating people like he is, I’d be annoyed too I suppose.” She muttered to herself, ignoring the look of shared amusement between the 4 behind her seeing as Draco’s shock and slight awe at finding out his new friend had such a rare ability wore off and he could process again what she was saying.

Looking at the small label on the front of the tank that she’d missed at first, Harriet read how the snake in front of her was a rare cousin to the American Horned Serpent. A ‘Jeweled Viper’ Harriet read, noticing for the first time the small gem-like stones seemingly embedded along the snakes back, each a different color resembling a living rainbow among the serpent’s deep indigo scales. She couldn’t help but be reminded of the stories she read about in muggle history books about how certain cultures worshiped brightly colored snakes as deities after she came upon the concept of different deities from her favorite book.

~ _ **What do you think of Naga? I read the name in a muggle history book once. They’re serpents that are often worshiped in some countries as gods of the underworld. And you certainly look like the kind of snake people would be found worshiping with your bright scales and beautiful gems.**_ ~ She hissed quietly to the snake, who seemed to puff up in slight arrogance at the praise.

~ _ **Yess...A fitting name indeed little Sspeaker.**_ ~ ‘Naga‘ agreed. Harriet was left with the sinking feeling that she may have accidentally created a monster by feeding his ego. ‘ _What have I just unleashed…_ ’

“Then it’s settled. Naga it is.” She said louder, switching back to English now that she was consciously thinking about how the words formed between the two languages in her head. Professor Prince, being the most familiar with Muggle culture and history of the 4, recognized the name for what it really was and couldn’t stop the slight snort of amusement from slipping out.

“You are the only child I have met that would name a beloved pet after a mythical deity of the underworld.” Severus for once was struggling with keeping his amusement at the sheer lunacy of the situation from spilling out past his mask. Naga just looked smug at the reactions everyone seemed to be having for his new name, or as smug as a snake can possibly look at least.

‘ _Yep, I’ve created a monster…’_ Harriet couldn’t help thinking to herself.

Leaving the store now plus one slightly venomous, highly arrogant serpent the size of an adult man and all the supplies she would need to care for it, as well as a book with more facts about Jeweled Vipers including how they can apparently understand English as well, the group of 5 headed back towards Ollivander’s upon realizing an entire hour had been spent in the pet shop.

“Ah! Miss Potter, right on time. I’ve just finished the final touches to your wand, and I have to say, it is indeed the most unique wand I’ve ever crafted." He handed her the long piece of wood.

"A mixture of Chestnut, Willow, Mahogany, and Maple woods, with a core of Phoenix tail feather. 13 and three quarters inches. Unyielding." The adults of the group each held a look of shock on their faces at the information.

"It is rare indeed where more than a single type of wood chooses a wizard or witch, but never have I seen such a varied assortment all choose the same witch, within the same wand..." He looked awed at the creation resting in her loose grip.

"This is a wand for one with a talent for taming magical creatures, with an unrivaled protectiveness of those they care for most in the world, with a fondness for those with great ambition and a desire to explore the world. But also a wand capable of advanced spell-work, with an unwavering bond to those who possess the greatest potential to learn magic. A very picky wand that swears loyalty only to those it deems fit to wield it."

' _This wand was amazing! Also very picky it seems indeed.._ ' She thought to herself, taking care to keep in mind what the wand maker had said. 

"I believe we would be most unwise, Miss Potter, to expect anything other than great and unexpected things from you. Very great things indeed..” Harriet couldn’t help but feel slightly anxious at that comment, worrying that she wouldn’t live up to the reputation expected of someone wielding such a unique wand.

Holding the wand lightly between her fingers, the burning feeling from before seemed to return briefly, only to seemingly evolve into a flood of warmth that filled her entire body. Giving the wand a slight flick, all of the lingering damage she’d accidentally inflicted upon the poor man’s shop mended itself instantly. Looking closer at the wand she couldn’t deny that it was beautiful.

The dark, almost black, brown wand was almost elegant in its appearance, with swirls of lighter brown seemingly flowing throughout the wood like blots of ink in water. The handle shaped like the head of a snake, it’s mouth open as the remaining length of the wand extended out almost like a tongue. Upon closer inspection, a line of what appeared to be different runes could be seen carved along the length from the base of the handle’s mouth to just before the tip as well as what appeared to be two small emeralds embedded into the snake’s head in place of carved eyes.

Harriet raised her eyebrow slightly at the handle’s distinct shape, slightly amused.

“I had a feeling you possessed a fondness for serpents, Miss Potter. Looking at your new friend, I would have to say my assumption was correct, yes?” Ollivander pointed towards the window of the shop where Lucius was standing nearest to the tank holding Naga, who seemed to be enjoying his new pastime of scaring any wizard who so much as looked at him in passing. Even Lucius seemed to be enjoying the serpent’s sense of humor if the smirk on his face was anything to go by. Harriet couldn’t help the small laugh that bubbled out at the scene.

“How much do I owe you for taking the time out to make my wand?” She asked, already pulling out the pouch of money from Gringotts, only to stop as Ollivander held up his hand.

“Nothing at all, my dear. A wand like this is a once in a lifetime creation and the joy in being allowed to aid in it’s crafting is more than enough payment.” Ollivander looked genuine for his awe at having created such a wand.

“Though I find it rather fitting that your wand would possess both Mahogany and Willow in it. As I recall, your mother’s first wand was also Willow, 10 ¼ inches, excellent for charms. While your father wielded a wand of Mahogany, 11 inches, and well suited for Transfiguration. That both their wand’s would in a manner of speaking, choose you Miss Potter, is only proof that you are without doubt your parent’s daughter, and are as destined to do great things as they were.”

To say everyone was shocked at the statement would be a tremendous understatement indeed.

* * *

After leaving the shop and parting ways with the Malfoy’s, Severus guided the girl back towards the Leaky Cauldron. His mind was abuzz at the information he had acquired throughout the day and not all of it was pleasant, remembering some of the details the goblins had been able to share with him. And then there was what he had learned of Potter herself. A female parselmouth, a rarity amongst even others with their gift as his lord had mentioned briefly years ago when Severus had inquired about the subject.

And the girl’s wand, an even mixture of both her parent's wands as well as the bits that undeniably make it her’s. ‘ _Chestnut and Maple. No doubt representing a free flowing soul with a desire to learn as much of the world as she can as well as her apparent fondness for unusual animals if that blasted snake is anything to go by. Merlin’s beard Lily, what have you unleashed upon the world this time? That girl is going to have an interesting future that’s for certain. Now to see if it will be the kind of interesting involves needing a bottle of Fire Whiskey in my near future..’_ Severus couldn’t help thinking to himself.

“It may be wise to simply rent a room at the Leaky Cauldron for yourself, Miss Potter for the rest of the Summer. I imagine you would find that preferable to returning to your relatives’ residence, yes?” At this the girl in question couldn’t agree more and nodded to his question.

“Then I will return tomorrow afternoon at precisely 11:30 to bring you to Gringotts and settle the issues the Goblin’s have uncovered. A word of advice, you’d best treat them with the utmost respect for they are very proud creatures, and will return the favor if shown the proper courtesy.” Harriet made sure to make a mental note of that bit of information and to take some time later that night to read up on the book about goblin culture she'd bought earlier.

A few minutes later and Professor Prince had left the dingy pub after giving her the ticket she would need for the train and clear instructions for how to access the platform, before the kind looking barkeep, Tom, showed her to her room for the night and from where she would end up staying the remainder of the last month of the Summer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter got WAY out of my control than I expected it to but I couldn't bring myself to split the chapter at any point as the entire trip is rather important in regards to the overall theme of of this story regarding secrets being uncovered. Also I'm blaming Naga for making this chapter longer than I planned it to be. The dramatic little shit just refused to let me dial down his dramatic qualities so blame him for this chapter being longer. Feel free to leave a comment with your thoughts about this chapter. I'm happy to hear what people think of this story so far lol.


	3. Goblins, Secrets, Ice Cream, and Pep talks

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The chapter name sums this one up quite nicely.

The next morning, Harriet awoke in a panic at the weight sitting on her chest making it hard to breathe properly. Lifting her head to find the source, She flopped her head back on the pillow in exasperation upon realizing that, somehow, at some point through the night, her already considerably bigger than herself, magical bossy snake had manage to escape his tank that was _supposed to be charmed against that very thing from happening!_ Hence waking to find herself in the situation of being a human heater for a 6 in a half foot long Jeweled Viper that was napping on top of her.

“Why am I not surprised I’ve already been delegated to serving as a heater?” Harriet groaned.

~ _ **Quiet Little sspeaker...It iss too early to be talking.**_ ~ A quiet voiced hissed from somewhere within the pile that was her new friend.

~ ** _Well good morning to you too, mister grumpy._** ~ She hissed back in Parseltongue. Naga just huffed in annoyance for the continued disturbance of his slumber.

‘ _Guess someone’s not a morning person._ ’ She mused to herself, amused at the antics of her familiar.

After trying to get the giant snake to budge and failing spectacularly for 10 minutes and cursing her relatives for being the reason she was so much smaller than she should be for her age, Harriet took a moment to look at the clock on the wall with an oddly extra amount of hands on it than she was used to seeing. Then promptly panicked upon realizing Professor Prince would be arriving in less than 5 minutes to take her to the bank to sort out whatever mess he had uncovered the day before.

~ ** _Will you get off me already?! I don’t have time for you to be lazy now!_** ~ She hissed out, increasingly annoyed at herself for picking the most stubborn serpent in Britain as her pet.

~ _ **No. Little SSpeaker iss warm.**_ ~

And that was how Severus Prince found the two 6 minutes later after arriving and being told the girl was still in her room. After knocking on the door and hearing a muffled ‘come in’ he had to fight his emotions back behind the blank mask he worked so hard to develop. Because the sight of the small 11 year old girl buried amidst the pile of coils that was her familiar and struggling to so much as move the blasted thing is one Severus doubts a lesser person could avoid openly laughing in this situation.

Instead Severus managed to make off with just a raised brow and slight smirk of amusement at the scene in front of him, not that she would actually catch his amuesement of the situation.

“Miss Potter are you in need of assistance perhaps?” The resulting squeak of embarrassment coming from somewhere in the pile of lazy snake was the only response she could get out.

“Professor?! Dammit Naga, get off already!” huffing out an annoyed breath at her snake’s continued refusal to wake up or even budge, the girl begrudgingly asked her Professor for assistance.

Severus then summoned a live mouse with a flick of his wand which flew out of a small hole in the base of the far wall, which quickly had the Viper’s attention and he slithered off his tiny human to reach his bribery fueled breakfast.

Sitting up with an irritated glare directed at the two of them, the girl just muttered about the two eventually 'teaming up against her’. Severus’ smirk merely widened slightly at the annoyance she showed before smoothing his face back behind it’s blank mask and turning around to walk out the door with a passing comment to get dressed immediately so that he could get back to enjoying the rest of his holiday’s in peace before closing the door and heading down the stairs to the main pub to wait for her to appear.

5 minutes later, the girl descended the stairs still muttering under her breath about spoiled snakes and annoying Professor’s, her black raven’s nest of hair flowing unruly down to her mid back and dressed for the meeting with the goblin’s in a new outfit Narcissa had helped her pick out the day before along with close to a dozen other sets of clothing at Madam Malkin’s, establishing the beginnings of her new wardrobe.

“Ready to sort out the mess that is your financial status?” Severus sneered. At the brief nod from the girl, they set out at once for the large white marble building that she now knew was the famous wizarding bank.

* * *

Upon crossing the threshold into the building, the pair both paused briefly to bow slightly towards the two goblins serving as the guards, each holding a lethal looking halberd that looked like they could easily defend against any unlucky thieves that were foolish enough to ignore the warning displayed proudly overhead in the entryway to the rest of the massive building.

Severus guided them towards the goblin he recognized as the teller who he had spoken with yesterday.

“Good day. We are here to discuss a matter of concern that was brought to my attention yesterday afternoon regarding the accounts of Miss Harriet Potter by accountant Ragnok.” Quiet gasps could be heard from the two lines of wizards on either side of the teller they were in front of, Harriet realizing quickly that their attention was on her or more importantly the scar that was barely visible behind her hair that she typically used to help cover the left side of her face it was on.

The goblin looked down at her for a moment before nodding his head jerkingly. “Of course, Ragnok, the Potter accountant, has alerted me to your meeting. If you'll both follow me at once.” After winding through a frankly ridiculous amount of corridors that Harriet questioned if anyone would be capable of retracing their steps, they finally reached a simple door that read ‘Potter Family Accountant: Ragnok’ that their guide gestured the two of them through at once.

“Ah! Miss Potter,” They were greeted by another goblin that Harriet assumed was Ragnok, who was seated behind a large desk filled with several scattered stacks of paper and various antique looking trinkets. “We have eagerly awaited your visit for several years now. Would you like to explain your reasons for the continual neglect of any response to our letters sent to you over the last 4 years since you became of age for your heirship?” At that Harriet felt her brows furrowed in confusion.

“I apologise Sir Ragnok,” She was thanking the book she’d found the day before in Flourish and Blotts that explained proper etiquette when dealing with goblins and had taken to studying it extensively the night before, less she embarrassed herself or accidentally offend any of them. “But I’m afraid I haven’t received any letters from Gringotts whatsoever over the years.” At this the goblin looked shocked and nearly enraged. “In fact, before yesterday morning I was not even aware of the existence of magic or the wizarding community at all. I spent the last 10 years living with muggle relatives in isolation from the world I was born into, therefore was not made aware to even expect any correspondence from a world I didn't even know existed.” If possible, the look of barely contained rage on the Goblin's face seemed to deepen even further.

“You mean to inform us, Miss Potter, that _classified_ Gringotts information has been intercepted from it’s intended recipient for nearly half a decade?!” The irate goblin growled out.

“That’s exactly what I am saying appears to have happened, Sir Ragnok. Professor Prince here informed me about a number of irregularities having been discovered in regards to the Potter Family vaults and that information pertaining to it would be available today?” At this the goblin nodded stiffly before reaching into a drawer in his desk and pulling at a sheet of parchment and an ornate silver dagger.

“Before we can continue however, we require an inheritance test to be performed by all prospective heirs of noble houses before we can allow such confidential information to be viewed openly.”

“Of course, what exactly do I have to do?” At this the goblin looked mildly annoyed at the notion that she didn’t know what to do already, before he smoothed the frown into a blank look.

“Simply prick the pad of your right index finger and allow 7 drops of blood exactly to drip onto the parchment.” Harriet did as told and after the last drop of blood hit the parchment, set the dagger onto the desk where the remaining blood was vanished from it’s edge before Ragnok placed it back in it’s drawer. Just as she was wondering what would happen next, elegantly flowing black script began pouring across the parchment in front of her as she nodded towards Professor Prince to look at it as well. What they read shocked the both of them:

_Name: Harriet Lily Potter-Black_

_Date of Birth: July 31st 1980_

_Parents: Lily Jane Potter née Evans (mother) (deceased)_   
_James Fleamont Potter (father) (deceased)_   
_Sirius Orion Black (father via blood adoption) (incarcerated)_   
_Remus John Lupin (godfather)_

_Siblings: None_

_Blood Status: Halfblood witch_

_Titles: Heiress of the Noble House of Potter_   
_Heiress of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black_   
_The Girl-Who-Lived (by conquest)_

_Acting guardian: Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore (via incarceration of Legal guardian and current laws preventing werewolves from gaining custody of children)_

‘ _Black blood adopted her?! The mutt betrayed her parents despite undergoing the blood adoption ritual so as to be viewed by all intent and purpose as her legal guardian in the event of her parent’s deaths?! Something isn’t right about that picture. Black may be as insane as the rest of his family, but he is_ not _manipulative enough to think up a plan like this would suggest if he had been a traitor as suspected._ ’ Severus was left baffled at the idea that the man who seemingly betrayed his own goddaughter’s family like the wizarding world was led to believe, would previously have gone through the extensive process of blood adopting the girl. A ritual that could only be done in the presence of the girl’s birth parents as the vows were taken, vows that swear to protect the girl and would result in Black’s death if broken.

‘ _That would mean...Merlin’s beard! Black was framed! No greater threat to the girl’s life existed than the Dark Lord, so to betray them to him would have meant Black’s instant death.’_

While Severus was going through an internal panic at the very idea that the man he grew up hating and had thought guilty all these years of betraying his closest friends being innocent all this time and falsely imprisoned within the literal hell that is Azkaban, the girl beside him was left shocked for a different reason.

“Sir Ragnok, who is Sirius Black and why does it state here that he’s listed as my father through blood adoption? I've never heard of the man before.” The goblin nodded grimly at the girl’s question.

“He was listed at the time as being a close friend of your family and on the day you were born, was named your godfather and thus magical guardian in the event of your parent’s untimely death.” He paused here for a moment until Harriet nodded to show she understood what he was saying.

“However, the records show that on the day of your first birthday on July 31st, 1981, your parents, the Halfblood wizard Remus Lupin, and Lord Black arrived at Gringotts with you present as well. They were listed on that day as having undergone both the traditional rites of legally changing Lord Black’s status from being your godfather to being your father through blood adoption, a change that would only take affect legally in the event of your birth parent’s death, thus allowing you to be recognized as his rightful heir to the Noble and Ancient House of Black." She nodded again once that information registered in her mind. "The second rite was the ceremony to declare Remus Lupin your godfather in the absence of Lord Black no longer being capable of holding the title due to the adoption ritual.”

“So you’re stating that for all intents and purposes that Sirius Black is my rightful guardian? And my father? And what exactly is his sentence for being incarcerated?” Ragnoc nodded his head at the first two questions, before opening his mouth to explain the third.

“Now that is where matters are unusually vague, Miss Potter-Black. Our records show that Lord Black was never officially or legally sentenced in a court a wizarding law before he was incarcerated following the alleged murder of 12 muggles and the Halfblood wizard Peter Pettigrew with the 'Confringo' curse the night of your birth parent’s murder 10 years ago.” Pausing again to give the shocked girl in front of him a moment to sort her thoughts before resuming at her affirmative nod.

“These circumstances are thus highly suspicious indeed that the Lord of a Noble and Most Ancient House would be wronged in such a way, guilty of the accused crime or not. It is the view of the Goblin race that such a wrong committed is a disgrace against magic itself and an insult upon the very world we live within. Though the Goblin people hold little love towards wizards as a whole, we do acknowledge that the members of the few remaining Ancient Houses are among the most respectable of wizarding kind due to their adherence to traditional and ancient customs, and are thus the only members worthy of our total respect regarding matters dating back more than a thousand years, and my people have always proven our loyalty to those few we place our respect in.”

“I-I see...B-But if Remus Lupin was meant to be my guardian as my godfather in the absence of Sirius Black, why was I not placed under his care?” At this Ragnok grimaced.

“That is indeed a matter concerning very timing heavy subjects Miss Potter-Black. At the time of your parent’s declaring Mister Lupin to be your godfather, none of the current laws regarding the restricted legal status and rights of werewolves existed, at least not to nearly the extent that they currently do." She nodded to show she understood what he was saying.

"However the month before your parents were murdered, the same series of laws we currently have were first enacted by the Wizengamot thus heavily restricting the rights werewolves were able to receive and stripping their right to serve as the legal guardians of magical children not already inflicted with Lycanthropy themselves. For all intents and purposes, your godfather was legally prohibited from ever having any contact with you throughout your childhood, and even prohibited by the Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot from so much as sending you a single letter to explain the reasoning for his lack of appearance in your childhood. If he had violated these laws he would have been sentence to life in Azkaban alongside your father.”

To say Harriet was enraged would be a monumental understatement indeed. For the first time in recent memory, her magic nearly lashed out at the room in response to her anger at the injustice she had just uncovered. It was only the notion that it was not the Goblin’s fault for said injustice and that he merely had the unfortunate task of serving as the messenger so to speak that kept her from accidentally trashing his office in a fit of rage. The look of shock on Ragnok’s face was an indicator that he was astounded that someone as young as her had such wild amounts of pure magic at their disposal. 

"You mean to tell me that the reason I grew up with magic hating muggles is because the wizarding government is bigoted against werewolves?! That I was denied the chance to live a life with those who cared for me because of a matter of Remus Lupin being attacked by a werewolf in the past?!" 

“Accountant Ragnok, perhaps a brief break would be appropriate in light of the troubling injustices found to have been committed against Miss Potter-Black today? Perhaps we could resume the meeting in say, an hour? I believe no one present is entirely unaffected by the revelations made so far.” Severus spoke up for the first time since they entered the small office, equal parts horrified at the implications and enraged at knowing exactly who the chief Warlock that passed those laws was.

He knew the _moment_ she was given even a chance to sort through her memories and piece together the fact she’d seen the term Chief Warlock on her acceptance letter the day before, that her barely present control over her anger would snap and she’d end up destroying the poor Goblin’s office in her anger. The accountant simply nodded in agreement, knowing full well how close his office came to being destroyed by the barely restrained magic from the young girl.

The two left the office a moment later, a guide appearing to lead them back through the winding halls and to the entrance hall once more before they left the bank.

* * *

Leading the visibly upset and infuriated girl towards Floean’s Fortescue’s Ice Cream Parlour, hoping that a frozen treat would soothe her emotions enough to clear her thoughts once more, he sat the girl in chair at a table further away from any other customers before going to order two bowls of ice cream, praying that the girl had similar tastes as her mother once had.

Harriet’s attention was pulled from her thoughts abruptly at the sound of a mild clunk as a bowl of Ice cream was set in front of her. Looking up she finally took notice of the man in front of her for the first time since reading the results of her inheritance test. She couldn’t help but feel slightly amused at the bowl of mint chocolate chip ice cream in front of the man, who merely raised an eyebrow at her amusement. Looking back to her own bowel, she was surprised to see he had somehow guessed her favorite flavor without asking her.

“Is something wrong with your food, Miss Potter?”

“No sir. But how did you even know that I liked dark chocolate ice cream? I don’t think literally anyone else even knows I prefer it over normal chocolate.” She questioned the professor.

“It was more a hopeful assumption than a previously known fact, actually. When we were in our school years, your mother would often comment about her fixation on the treat. I simply made the seemingly safe assumption that you had inherited her tastes towards sweets veering more along the lines of less sugary rather than ‘sickeningly sweet’ as Lily used to always complain about our own preference for less bitter foods.” At that Harriet couldn’t help but chuckle slightly. At the man’s raised eyebrow, she explained her reaction.

“It’s just, Aunt Petunia said almost the same thing years ago when she saw my reaction towards dark chocolate the first time. How I must have gotten my mother’s ‘disdain for anything sickeningly sweet’ as she’d been heard describing it as when they were children, and that she was actually happy for it if only because it meant not having to worry about me trying to ‘steal’ their sweeter tasting desserts.” Harriet smiled slightly at the somewhat bitter memory.

“Now that I think about it, that’s around one of the few times I can recall my relatives comparing me to my ‘freakish’ parents where they didn’t have a look of utter disgust or hate on their faces. Heck, Aunt Petunia almost looked like she was living through a happy memory of the event for once, instead of looking like the mere thought of my mother would poison her or something.”

“Ah, yes. I seem to recall a number of memories of young Tuney from our childhood, we were nearly all the same age as you can most likely imagine, and what few times she lingered longer than a few seconds at most were usually unpleasant times where she hurled insults of our ‘freakish ways’ in our direction. I could never bring myself to care one way or the other what a single muggle thought of myself, however I was aware that hearing those words from her own sister for so many years wounded your mother deeply each time she had to endure them. Your aunt even then was a bitter and spiteful human being, and I’m regretful that her behavior hasn’t tempered itself over the years and that you grew up enduring those same words, Miss Potter.” Harriet looked surprised at the words her professor was saying.

“Why would you be regretful, professor? You didn’t make Petunia into the bitter person she became and would grow into over the years. From how you describe her, the presence of magic in her life and the attention it took away from her and directed to my mum is what made her grow so resentful of her own sister. That’s hardly your own fault now isn’t it?” Yet again Severus was left in shock at the level of compassion and empathy the girl seemed to have within her.

“Perhaps you make a valid argument, Miss Potter. You’re very similar in that way to your mother actually.” The subtle look of awe in the girl’s eyes at that similarity showed her feelings at that sentiment. “Both of you seem to possess compassionate spirits inside of yourselves and a never ending capacity to forgive those who seemingly do not feel deserving of such forgiveness. A trait few seem willing to strive towards maintaining.”

“Well, I told you before about my hate for bullies right?” At the man’s nod and slight look of confusion at the sudden shift in topic, she continued. “I’ve seen the way negativity can influence how a person becomes in life, sir. And I’ve seen the way that even a bit of kindness and compassion can prevent that same person from going down a darker path in life. So I guess it’s like my personal motto in a way? How compassion can be used as a more effective weapon then any insult or blade. That it can shape the world around us in a way negativity would only poison it. I don’t see any point in being negative towards another person when a bit of sympathy or basic understanding could serve much better in the end.”

“Rather ambitious of you Miss Potter. If I were you, I’d be careful that others didn’t mistake you for being a Slytherin.”

“What’s wrong with Slytherin? The way you described it, the house of the Ambitious, Resourceful and the Cunning certainly has its own appeal in my opinion. My parents may have been in Gryffindor themselves, but I’m not entirely sure that that would be the best house for me from what I've read about it in ‘Hogwarts: A history’. The house of the brave, the courageous, and the chivalrous. I don’t see myself as really fitting in any of those groups if I’m being honest, Professor. I’ve spent my entire life afraid of my uncle’s temper, I’m not especially brave and never have been enough to try and stand up for myself more. And I’m not chivalrous, if I see someone in need of help, then I’d attempt to help them how I can but if someone doesn’t want to be saved from their path, I’m not gonna force them to try and change. I’m not a ‘righteous hero’ like everyone expects me to be.”

“Being afraid does not make you unable to be courageous Miss Potter. Nor does lacking in bravery in the face of danger mean that you are unable to be brave in different ways. And not being a ‘righteous hero’ that the world wants you to be is actually a testament to that fact. That right there is one of the bravest things a person can commit to doing. Staying true to whom they are in the face of what the world feels they should be, and refusing to let that sense of self be swayed. I do however agree with your assumption that the house of the lions is not the one you most likely be sorted into.”

“Thank you, Professor. For not treating me like the expected hero that the world seems to think I am. I never really wanted to be a hero anyways, and I certainly don't want the attention they get." Severus just nodded his head towards the girl.

"If I may, what’s your opinion for where I’ll be sorted? I'd imagine you’d enjoy the chance to gloat over the ‘Girl-Who-Lived’ being in the house of serpents.” Severus would deny the smirk that appeared at that statement until his dying day. ' _It's those blasted eyes. Curse you Lily for giving the girl your damned eyes!_ ' Severus thought to himself.

“Though it would indeed bring much amusement to boast of that fact, I genuinely believe you could find yourself in any of the remaining three houses Miss Potter.” Harriet surprised at his answer.

“I have seen first hand the value you placed on the idea of family when you were told the wrongs committed against the few pieces of family you have left in the world, the loyalty you feel towards those you care for is among your greatest strengths. I have also been told by Narcissa about your desire to learn as much as you can about the new world you have found yourself in. Why, your wand is often a representation of your core personality. 'A desire to explore the world around you and the ambition to uncover all of it’s secrets, a fierce sense of protectiveness for those you consider under your care. A drive towards greatness in the face of innumerable hurdles.' So yes, I believe you could very well find yourself in any of the three remaining houses of Hogwarts, and either of them would allow you to flourish under their guidance.”

“I suppose when you put it like that, you do make a good point for all three of the houses Professor.”

Finishing the last of their ice cream and paying the bill, the two headed back in the direction of the bank, and back to where more information was to be had.

* * *

Upon reentering Ragnok’s office, Harriet had the courtesy to feel embarrassed at her lack of control over her emotions. Before she could formally apologize to the Goblin however, he raised a hand halting her.

“Before you attempt to make whatever apologies you feel you are due, I would be remiss to not inform you of the fact that were anyone else to find themselves in your current situation they would be hard pressed to not react in a more aggressive or emotionally fueled manner as you did were they your age. No child, regardless of species or origins, can be expected to have the necessary life experiences required to gain complete control over their emotions to the level that even few adults could manage.” Pointedly directing his gaze towards the Potions Professor next to her. “Mister Prince is one of the few wizards I have had the personal experience in dealing with enough to note his control over his emotions is one I have rarely encountered before. Do not feel expected to already possess his level of control.”

“Sir Ragnok makes a valid point, Miss Potter.” Severus spoke up, drawing her attention to him.

“The control I hold over my emotions has been gained through years of playing both sides of a war, as well as more than a decade of training in the art of Occlumency or the art of protecting one’s mind from intrusion.” At that the girl’s eyes widened at the idea. ‘ _I’m going to regret mentioning that information to her, I can see it already.._ ’ Severus sighed, mentally exhausted by just the idea of Potter pestering him about the subject later.

Harriet couldn’t fault their logic, seeing as she was 11 after all and physically incapable of having the necessary mental development she would only develop as she grew older to gain tighter control over her emotions.

“Now that the matter regarding your inheritance test has been settled, we can begin to discuss the matters of concern we of the Goblin nation have uncovered regarding your family’s vaults, Miss Potter.” Harriet nodded in agreement with the goblin for him to continue.

“Before the specifics of a Noble House’s accounts can be discussed however with prospective heirs, the matter of said heir’s parents' will must be taken into account first.” Ragnok paused at this fact, which had Harriet feeling slightly nervous over the fact that they were apparently going to read her late parent’s will today on top of everything else that had transpired, before he spoke into a small glowing crystal she hadn’t noticed was sitting on the Goblin’s desk. “Bring the Potter will!” He paused for a moment as though seemingly listening to someone speaking from the other end of the crystal. “Then unseal it at once and bring it here immediately!” The suddenly irate goblin barked into the crystal, sounding as though whatever he had been told had left him less than pleased. Tapping his clawed finger against his desk briefly, he turned back to the two confused individuals in front of him.

“I apologize Miss Potter. It would appear that someone has gone against protocol regarding the status of your birth parent’s will and it had been sealed within your family vault 10 years ago before it could officially be read. On behalf of the entire Goblin nation, I ask for your forgiveness for allowing such an oversight to be allowed to go undiscovered for so long.”

“You are forgiven Sir Ragnok. It is my understanding that it was chaotic times in the wake of the last Wizarding war ending 10 years ago, thus I do not blame your people for such things going unnoticed for so long.” At this, Ragnok raised an eyebrow at her formal reply.

“Regardless of the chaos at the time, it is still appalling that such matters were not detected even after the political situation had calmed.” It was at that moment a small door opened from one of the walls behind Ragnok’s desk and a second goblin stepped forward carrying a bound roll of parchment. “The Potter will, Sir Ragnok.” He merely nodded to the new goblin before setting the roll on his desk.

“Thank you Griphook. Now I want an investigation launched into how something like this was allowed to happen and I want the goblin responsible for the sealing detained immediately.” ‘Griphook’ bowed slightly at that before retreating back through the door and closing it with a soft click.

Looking back to the confused girl in front of him, the goblin explained. “Gringotts will be launching an investigation into the source behind your family’s will being sealed for so long Miss Potter, and rest assured the goblin responsible will be dealt with accordingly.” Harriet couldn’t do more than nod slightly at that bit of information. Turning back to the parchment, the goblin cleared his throat.

“The Final Will and Testament of James and Lily Potter.” Watching as the goblin cracked open the wax seal holding the document closed, Harriet could literally feel the small wave of magic being released and shivered slightly at the feeling.

After reading through the first part of the document which contained the last written words of her parents, they reached the part regarding their final wishes.

“ _To my cherished friend, Severus Tobias Prince, I leave the Potter family collective notes on potions lore, in the hope that you may find something new to create from the notes found within. As well as, a sincere apologies from James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter for how they treated you during our years at Hogwarts. Severus, I can only pray that one day you can find it within yourself to forgive us all for how we behaved towards you._ ” It was here the man in question was fighting to keep his emotions behind his blank mask, and knew he was slowly losing that battle.

“ _To our dear Moony, we leave the Potter Cottage to you, in the hopes that you always find a home there, old friend._ ”

“ _To Sirius Orion Black, we leave the Potter Family Grimoires, in the hope that when the time is right, you are able to pass down the secrets within to our daughter in the event that we are unable to do so ourselves._ ”

“ _And finally, to our beloved daughter Harriet Lily Potter-Black, we leave the entirety of the Potter family estates including the Ancestral Potter Manor. As well as the invisibility cloak currently stored within the family vault of 790 to be passed to your possession upon claiming of the family heir ring, that has served as one of our families’ most cherished heirlooms for generations passed down from parent to youngest child, in the hopes that it will be used to aid you in uncovering the world’s mysteries, along with the entire contents of the remaining Family vaults._ ” Harriet could feel as a single tear trailed down her face at hearing the last words of her parents.

“Now the matter regarding your inheritance pertaining to the family estate and vaults can be claimed once you reach your majority at the age of 17 in 6 years time, at which point full acting control of your families’ estate will be signed over to your name and reverted back to your control to do as you wish with it.” At her nod Ragnok continued.

“There are however two matters to be resolved yet, one of which pertains to the status of the cloak mentioned in your parents will, the exact location of which is unknown.” To say Harriet was upset at that would be another understatement.

“What do you mean it’s unknown? That cloak should be in the family vault along with the rest of my inheritance shouldn’t it?” The goblin nodded briefly at her question.

“Indeed it should be, Miss Potter. However our records indicate that the day of your parent’s will being sealed, a withdrawal was made from your family vault and several family heirlooms were removed at the time and never returned.”

“And who exactly was listed as being the one responsible for these illegal transactions?” Harriet felt a cold fury boiling deep in her stomach at the idea of someone stealing from her family.

“Albus Dumbledore was listed as the only individual to make any withdrawal from that vault in the last 10 years. In fact he has been withdrawing several thousand galleons from all 3 of your family’s vaults each month for the last 10 years since your parents murder with the explanation of it being used to pay for your tutoring and etiquette classes for when you eventually came of age to claim your heirship and eventual Ladyship as well. Judging by your reaction however, I would imagine this information was false however?” The reaction in question was a look of pure rage on Harriet’s face at the knowledge that the Headmaster had been stealing from her family for nearly a decade. Professor Prince looked infuriated as well if the scowl on his face was any indicator.

“That is most certainly not what happened! I haven’t received any of the alleged tutoring or classes in my entire life. My muggle relatives I was left in the care of repeatedly liked to remind of how they never received any money for raising me from any source whatsoever!” Taking a breath to try and get her anger under control again, Harriet asked if there was any way to halt these transactions and to reclaim the money that was stolen from her.

At this, Ragnok let a vicious smile filled with pointed teeth slip through his mask. “Indeed. That is well within the goblin nation’s ability to correct. The stolen funds should be restored to your vault in roughly a month.”

“Is there perhaps any way to charge interest upon the money stolen? I want him to suffer a bit for what he’s done.” The smile grew decidedly more vicious at that question.

“Of course Miss Potter-Black, we will recover ever Galleon stolen from you over the years as well as substantial interest as an apology from the Goblin nation for allowing yet another wrong to be committed against your family.”

“Thank you Sir Ragnok. It is pleasant to know that the goblin nation handles its debts with utmost seriousness. Are there any other matters that need to be settled?” Here the goblin nodded.

“There is one last matter to settle. The matter of your heir rings.” At this Severus raised an eyebrow at the idea. Noticing his reaction the goblin was quick to explain.

“In ordinary circumstances an heir is only able to claim their respective rings upon reaching the age of 14 where they would then begin studying for their roles as prospective Lords and Ladies of their house. However Miss Potter-Black is within an unordinary situation being the only living member of the Noble House of Potter. As such, the typical age of claiming her heirships has been rescinded so as to provide a living heir to the House of Potter. This change also entitles her to claiming the heirship of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black.” Ragnok spoke into another crystal on his desk, presumably linked to a different goblin.

“Bring the heir ring for the House of Black!” Leaning down into presumably a different drawer the goblin pulled out a ring box before setting it, and the newly present box that suddenly appeared out of nowhere, in front of her and opening both of them.

“Now, the order in which you place the rings will determine which House you wish to be seen as being a part of by the public. Official documents will still list both titles of course, but this serves as a way of shortening it to more manageable titles for those who are the heirs of multiple houses. Place the ring belonging to the house you choose to be recognized for on your right index finger and the remaining ring upon your right ring finger. Once you have made your choice the rings will resize themselves to fit you and will only be able to be removed by your hand alone and will not be removed if traces of compulsions are detected as being used on you.”

Harriet thought about her decision for a minute. On the one hand, she cared about her parents deeply and wanted to honor them. But on the other, a part of her couldn’t help but feel slightly bitter that they had willingly had her in the middle of a war and didn’t even try to move her somewhere she would be safe even after it was known that a madman was after them.

And then there was the matter of her other father, Sirius Black, who went through all the complicated troubles of blood adopting her so that she would have an actual family in the event her birth parents didn’t survive the war. She may not have met the man in person before, but she couldn’t help but feel a bit closer towards the idea of him then she ever did towards the memory of her birth parents.

Making up her mind, Harriet reached towards the box Ragnok had indicated as holding the Black family heir ring and took it out of its box before bringing it closer for inspection. The ring itself was clearly ancient judging from it’s antique design despite the gleam of the silver band as it caught the low light of the office. 3 onyx ravens with three small rubies as eyes were adorn on a shield , beneath a hand clutching a wand. ‘The Black family crest’ she thought to herself, not entirely certain how she knew instinctively that was what she was looking at. She then noticed the words ‘ _Toujours Pur_ ’ inscribed upon the inside of the band.

Slipping the ring onto her right index finger, Harriet could feel a sense of warmth and belonging settle over her shoulders the moment the ring was settled in place. Taking the Potter family ring from it’s box she inspected it closer as well, taking note of the more modern appearance compared to the ancient ring already on her finger, as well as the shining gold band adorn with a stag upon a ruby red shield. ‘ _Novissima autem inimica destruetur mors omnia enim_ ’ being inscribed across the inside of the band.

Slipping the Potter ring onto her ring finger left only a slight feeling of warmth compared to the feeling of the Black family ring, though it could be explained as the order of the rings having an impact, she supposed.

“Gringotts acknowledges your claim, Heiress Black-Potter.” Nodding to the goblin, the two of them were guided out of the office and walked back into the alley.

* * *

“I find myself curious, Miss Potter, that you would choose this specific order regarding your rings.” Stopping outside of Florean’s again, the two took a seat at their previous table. Harriet took a moment to gather her thoughts.

“Well, family has always been more an idea to me rather than something I’ve actually experienced, Professor. So, when I found out I technically still had living family left under the House of Black, it felt like something clicked into place I guess? My birth parents were the last members of the House of Potter that I had any connection to, yet Sirius is the only living family I actually still have. So I suppose there was that sense of belonging in regards to the House of Black that I didn’t really feel as strongly towards the House of Potter if that makes sense?” At his slight nod she continued.

“Don’t get me wrong, I love my birth parents and I’ll always be grateful towards them for being the reason I’m still alive today. But it just feels wrong to even think about ignoring the family of the man who went through so much to honor his friend’s memory and to give me an actual family to be proud of.” Pausing to try and sort her thoughts a bit clearer. “Maybe that’s being dishonorable to the Potter family instead, and maybe I’m shaming my birth parents’ memories by seemingly rejecting their legacy…” Severus held up a hand to stop her from rambling any further.

“It is not a disgrace to prefer associating and cherishing the living bonds of family you still have, Miss Potter, especially not when the alternative is to possibly be consumed in the memory of the dead. It would not do well to linger too long on the dead, rather than keep their memory alive inside of you.”

“Has anyone told you, Professor, that you're pretty good at giving pep talks?” At this the man in front of her scowled deeply in annoyance.

“You would do well, Miss Potter, to keep that information to yourself.” Severus warned.

“Of course sir, we wouldn’t want others knowing you're capable of human empathy now would we?” The girl had the gall to giggle at the idea.

The two went their separate ways after that, Harriet returning to her room at the Leaky Cauldron with a thought to order some lunch. After spending several hours comforting an irate Naga who was less than pleased being left alone for so long at a time, Harriet drifted off to sleep beside the moping viper.

Waking the next morning, thankfully not buried in a pile of lazy Viper like the previous morning, and eating breakfast down in the actual pub of the building before returning to her room was how she found the sight of said room positively in ruins and a certain snake hissing warningly at the oddest looking creature she’d ever seen with freakishly big eyes and floppy ears, wearing what looked like an old pillowcase backed into the far corner of the room in pure fear.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just realized after going over my plans for how this story and it's eventual sequels are shaping up to go, that I should say here and now: Any credit for the several plot points regarding magical theory that will eventually be getting revealed in the closing days of their time at Hogwarts that seem familiar at all goes to the amazing fanfic writer 'Samvelg' and their incredible story 'The Historical Importance of Runic War Warding in the British Isles'. 
> 
> In fact their concept and idea behind Parseltongue being a genetic trait that Harry inherited and not the canon magical gimmick it's been turned into is the inspiration for Harriet's Parselmagic in this story and full credit for that train of thinking goes to them entirely lol. I will be changing a few details about it since I'd hate to full out steal their idea from them, but the overall concept is certainly theirs and thus I am giving credit to them for it here. 
> 
> Once this series reaches the point that the 'After Hogwarts' plot lines start getting involved, I'll leave another Note on the chapter that first mentions it giving credit to Samvelg for the amazing plot they've come up with and inspired me with.
> 
> Black family motto translations: Always Pure
> 
> Rough translation for the Potter family motto: The Last enemy that shall be destroyed is death


	4. New friends and new Homes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's the sorting! And Harriet and Draco make a couple of new friends, while Naga reaches a new level of intimidation factor in others.

**Severus’ P.O.V :**

That night, Severus had just returned from a rather infuriating meeting with the Headmaster regarding one Harriet Potter.

He'd had to bite his tongue the entire time the old goat was going on about how it was 'unwise to leave the girl outside the protection of the blood wards around her relatives house and how he would have to go back the next day to return her at once', lest he explode in on a tangent about the old fool stealing from the girl for years and how he had condemned her only family for ‘the greater good’ as he would no doubt try to rationalize it as.

Severus had no intentions of forcing the girl to return to her relatives that he was now almost certain had spent years abusing the girl verbally if not physically as well. He at least felt a smug sense of joy at manipulating and guilting the Headmaster into allowing the young girl to be permitted to bring her new pet snake with her to Hogwarts once the term started. The rather heavy guilt trip Severus had laid about how the girl growing up with no real friends deserved the chance to at least keep the pet she had bonded so quickly with doing the trick to convince the senile old man.

' _He never said what kind of snake she could bring..'_ He also made certain to keep the meddling old fool from glancing over his memories of the day's events.

' _I'll be damned, if he thinks for one second I'd even consider betraying the girl's secrets. And the look on the old fool's face when he first see's that blasted reptile is certain to be more than worth the arm twisting it took to convince the man in the first place._ '

Relaxing into his favorite chair in his private office after lighting the fireplace with a flick of his wand, Severus was just contemplating drowning himself in a bottle of Fire whiskey before bed at the idea of meddlesome headmasters, when said flames flared emerald green, and the form of Lucius Malfoy stepped out over the mantle.

“Lucius, what can I do for you this evening?” He asked quietly.

“I have just finished having a rather lengthy talk with my wife concerning her worries about a certain Potter heir. She is convinced as well as I am, that matters should be taken to assist the girl however we can. It was then that we were reminded you had attended a meeting with her this afternoon regarding important matters as I recall?”

“You are correct indeed, Lucius. A number of concerns were brought to Miss Potter’s attention as well as my own as my role as acting guardian in the absence of the Headmaster and his word granting me the authority to take his place for the day.” At this the Malfoy Lord nodded in understanding of the difficult topic about to be discussed.

“I won’t reveal everything that was discussed, simply because I refuse to violate the girl’s trust she has placed in me so soon. I will however mention a rather pressing concern that the goblin’s brought to my attention regarding the legality of a certain lord of a certain most ancient house. The only reason I am sharing this particular fact with you at all Lucius, is because I believe you are the only Law wizard we can trust to handle the situation with utmost caution and discretion also the girl seems to trust your family already.”

“Of course old friend, I will do everything in my power to prove myself worthy of the trust you have placed in me tonight. It has always struck me as odd indeed the way Black was thrown in Azkaban without so much as a hint of a fair trial or even a drop of Veritaserum to determine the truth in his ranting about being responsible for Lily and James Potter’s deaths. That wording could have half a dozen meanings to it after all. I will speak with Amelia tomorrow, she was always fond of the Potters and Black, and was always suspicious at the reasoning given as to why Black was refused a trial.” Severus sighed in relief and the genuine tone his close friend spoke in.

“If you could, Lucius, I believe the girl will be in need of a reputable and reliable law firm in the coming weeks in regards to several of the other concerns that were brought to light today.”

“Very well, I’ll look into my contacts, see if I can find one more capable of handling such a sensitive client as Miss Potter no doubt is.” The two backtracked to the previous topic to sort out the details of what would be needed to actually get Black a trial and capable of serving as the girl’s legal guardian once more. By the early morning, the two had arranged the terms of a meeting that would be extended to Harriet later that day as well as the first steps that would have to be taken to see Black freed from his unlawful incarceration.

* * *

** Harriet’s P.O.V., The morning after Gringotts: **

Taking in the scene in front of her, Harriet found she wasn’t nearly as surprised as she should be at the idea of her Snake getting himself into trouble so soon, as she was that she’d managed to not hear it at all during breakfast. ‘ _Must have been more exhausted than I thought yesterday._ ’

~ _ **Naga! Explain what the hell you’ve done right now mister!**_ ~

The viper in question only looked slightly annoyed at the idea of his human trying to act stern with him and started hissing in warning to the creature in front of him that seemed to only get more frightened.

~ ** _Little Sspeaker...thiss elf appeared with no warning in your nesst...I wass enssuring he did not esscape before you could quesstion it'ss pressence…_** ~ Harriet had to fight not to roll her eyes at the overprotective guard snake in front of her. Meeting the ‘elf’s’ eyes, she questioned why he was there who let out a squeak of fear.

“Dobby is here on behalf of Dobby’s masters Harriet Potter! Theys be asking Harriet Potter to attend a meeting with Master Malyfoy and Mister Prince! Theys be saying that it is regarding Sirius Black’s freedom!” Glancing back to the still irritated viper in front of him, ‘Dobby’ quickly met her eyes again. “Could Dobby not become Snake food please!” The squeak of fear in his voice reminded her that she was the only one to realize Naga was actually a lazy softy when not protecting his human.

~ _ **Enough Naga. You’ll scare the poor thing to death at this rate. Go back to your naps you seem so fond of.**_ ~ Harriet hissed softly to the grumpy familiar, shaking her head fondly at the resulting huff of annoyance before he slithered back up the bedpost and onto her bed that he’d seemingly claimed for the time being.

“Sorry about that Dobby. Naga’s actually a real sweetheart once you get to know him and he’s not trying to protect me from possible danger. Now what’s this about Mister Malfoy and Professor Prince?” The elf let out a relieved sigh at the notion of the overprotective viper no longer actively trying to attack him before standing up straight and backing away from the corner he’d been stuck in for the last 10 minutes before bowing deeply to her.

“Master has requested Miss Harriet Potter’s presence to discuss matters with Mister Severus Prince about Sirius Black’s imprisonment. He asks Dobby to tell Harriet Potter that Dobby is to bring Miss Potter to Malfoy Manor today before Dobby will return Harriet Potter to her room here at the Leaky Cauldron.” Drawing in a breath for the first time in that long message, Dobby looked as though he was waiting for her response.

“Of course I’ll go with you Dobby, I trust the Malfoys after their help yesterday. Um, do you think they’d mind if I bring Naga with me? I’m not sure it would be wise to have him away from me longer than he has been the last day. He’s become rather attached to me it seems..” Eyeing the still annoyed looking snake currently sitting on her bed, Harriet realized that would be a safe assumption.

“Dobby will check with Masters to be certain if they mind.” Just as suddenly as he said that, the elf disappeared with a soft ‘pop’ sounding in the air.

Glaring slightly at the viper next to her, she hissed at him slightly annoyed with his antics.

~ _ **Did you really have to scare the poor thing so badly?! You can’t just frighten everyone you meet you know?**_ ~

~ ** _Little Sspeaker iss under my protection...Won’t allow anyone to harm little sspeaker..._** ~ She just huffed in annoyance at his stubborn attitude.

It was a moment later that Dobby returned in another pop. “Masters have said Harriet Potter is welcome to bring her snake to the meeting.” Conveying the message to the grumpy serpent, who seemed to perk up at the idea of getting out of the tiny room, the two waited as the serpent slid off the bed and over to his favorite human before raising his head off high enough that it brushed her hand as Doppy took hold of the other and she felt the now familiar feeling of apparating to a different location.

Stumbling slightly at the noticeably less severe feeling of disorientation compared to the last time she experienced it, she noticed Naga flopping down his head after landing, looking as nauseous as a snake probably could from the sudden trip and somewhat like he was about to give up on life. She couldn't help the giggle caused by the mental image.

~ ** _Sstupid magics....sstupid elves...Ssnakes were not made for magical transsportation!!_** ~ 

Ignoring the irritably hissing serpent for the moment, while still keeping an eye on him to prevent him from deciding to turn Dobby into his breakfast, she took a second to look around at the room they were currently in. ‘Fancy’ was the first word that came to mind when she took in the elegant decor around the room. It was when Dobby started moving towards a large doorway, that Harriet was reminded to follow the small elf.

Entering the small office they were bid to step into, she noticed the already present form of her Potions instructor sitting in a chair near Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy.

“Harriet dear, it’s so good to see you again. Please, take a seat, there’s a very important matter that Severus has brought to our attention.” Seeing the look of betrayal on the girl’s face, she rushed to assure her. “Severus has only informed my husband here of the issue relating to the incarceration of Sirius Black due to my husband being one of the most talented Law wizards currently seated on the Wizengamot. The other concerns Severus kept vague in mentioning that he felt you would want to handle personally with the aid of a wizarding law firm to discuss privately.” At the mention of possibility of correcting the wrongs against Sirius, the young heiress in front of them visibly calmed.

“Severus places the trust others place in him in the highest regard, Miss Potter. There is little in this world he takes more seriously than that.” Lucius spoke up for the first time.

“Sorry about thinking negatively about you Professor. I just have a lot of trouble bringing myself to trust others with anything. So when it sounded like that trust had been broken I may have jumped to assumptions too quickly.” Harriet could feel her cheeks redden slightly in embarrassment.

“You are more than within your right to feel that way Miss Potter. I have seen first hand what trust broken can cause and I will never fault you for being cautious about placing that trust in others you have not known well enough.” Severus couldn’t help both sympathize with the girl’s difficulty in trusting others easily. ‘ ** _At least she’s not foolish enough to trust the first person she sees. As cautious as that bloody snake around her shoulders._** ’

Naga had indeed taken the time to crawl around the side of the chair Harriet was sitting in and had draped his head over the top enough that it rested on the girl’s shoulder, eyeing the other’s in the room for even a hint of a threat. Lucius and Severus both couldn’t help the slight shudder at the brief reminder that the scene was eerily similar to how a certain Dark Lord would hold court years ago with his followers as his own familiar draped herself in an almost identical manner.

~ _ **The maless ssmell of fear, mistress. They are unnerved by my pressence it sseemss.**_ ~ Harriet couldn’t help the snort that slipped out at that.

~Can you blame them? You are a very large snake after all with venom that causes hallucinations in humans. If I didn’t know better personally, I would probably find myself very much intimidated by a snake of your stature as they are.~ She hissed quietly to the amused reptile.

Clearing his throat in an attempt to get the meeting back on track, ignoring the almost hypnotic quality hearing the serpent language spoken aloud in front of them, Lucius spoke up again. “Now that things are cleared up again, we have much to discuss today regarding the man who has recently been revealed as being your father. I have already sent a letter by owl to the head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement of the Ministry of Magic, Amelia Bones. She’s a rather stern but just woman who has always maintained suspicion behind Sirius Black’s incarceration. I believe that she is our best chance at bringing necessary attention to the fact that he was refused a trial for 10 years. With any luck, she’ll be able to arrange for a proper trial within a month after the term begins. This is preferable in fact, because it will give Lord Black the opportunity to see a mind healer to deal with the psychological effects being surrounded by Dementors for so long has most likely inflicted upon his mind.” Seeing the confusion in her eyes, he explained briefly what Dementors actually were.

“Dementors are among the most dark and vile creatures in our world. Even to dark wizards, this opinion rarely changes despite the fact they are less likely to be as affected due to their similar alignment regarding their magical cores to the dementors’ naturally dark nature.” Seeing the nod of understanding, he pressed on. “Dementors feed on the positive emotions of a witch or wizard, leaving nothing but the most negative feelings and memories in their place. They are also capable of sucking out a wizard’s soul through what is known as the ‘Dementor’s kiss’, a fate often deemed far worse than to simply die."

“And my...father, has been exposed to these things for a decade?!” The unfamiliar feel of the word on her tongue clear in her question, along with the horror at the idea that such a punishment could be deemed acceptable.

“Unfortunately, yes. I may have little love or compassion for Black, but no man or woman deserves such a cruel fate as he has had to endure.” Severus confirmed the horrifying fact.

“What is wrong with the wizarding government if they think something like this is at all acceptable?! How could anyone think that to suck out someone’s soul after draining their last happy memory is a fitting sentence!?” The air was positively charged with the girl’s anger-fueled magic.

~ ** _Little Sspeaker....be calm. It iss not their fault for the cruelty of the government they are forced to follow…_** ~ The calm hissing snapped her out of the boiling anger she had felt, and she made a conscious effort to breath deeply a few times to hopefully calm her magic before it lashed out on its own.

“Sorry, sorry. Getting angry won’t help anything. My apologies Lord and Lady Malfoy, I shouldn’t have lost my temper in your home.”

“What have I told you not 5 minutes ago about being entitled to your feelings?” Severus looked mildly annoyed at the girl already forgetting.

“Human beings are emotional creatures, Miss Potter. Attempting to bury those emotions can have serious negative impacts on your health when you are still a child. Emotional suppression is the source of a child developing into what is known as a n Obscurial, due to that same suppression often being applied to their magic as well. You would do well to remember that emotions are never meant to be locked away like some source of shame for them existing.” At Narcissa's stern look at his mention of the sensitive topic, Severus ignored her reservations in the moment. 

"She should know Narcissa, the potential hazards something like this could cause! Far to few wizards even know what an Obscurial is let alone how they develop in the first place. We shouldn't be attempting to restrict the information when it could save dozens if not hundreds of lives!" Severus spoke sternly, his mask cracking slightly as he argued about the mater. "You know better than any of us, Narcissa, how _**no**_ child should ever be allowed to become something as horrible as _that_."

“Um, w-what’s an Obscurial?” She asked nervously.

Taking a deep sigh at the idea of discussing this subject and how hypocritical it was, scolding someone about repressing their emotions, for him of all people, Severus started explaining one of the worst fates a child could possibly suffer, regardless of the pain it caused him to even think of.

“That is not an easy topic to discuss, Miss Potter... An Obscurial, is essentially a child born with magical blood that over time becomes possessed by their own magic." The look of growing horror at the idea speaker louder then words how serious the girl was taking his words now. "In these cases, the child’s magic literally develops into a parasitic force that the child serves as its host.” Harriet’s eyes had widened even further in horror at the idea. “This transformation is usually caused by extreme amounts of emotional distress brought on by the child being forced to suppress their own magic.”

“That’s _enough,_ Severus.” The stern voice of Narcissa drew their attention to her. “Harriet doesn’t need to worry over something as rare and frankly terrifying occurring to her. This is precisely the reason schools like Hogwarts exist in the first place. To allow for a safe environment where children of magical blood can learn to properly channel and embrace their gifts. Isn’t that right Lucius?”

“Absolutely. The very rare event an Obscurial being put in a situation to become what it has, has never occurred within a child that has attended any school or institution for magical learning, and never will as the very idea contradicts the very nature of Obscurial developing in the first place.”

“Perhaps it would be best to close this meeting? I believe we have already discussed what it’s intended purpose was. Now, Harriet dear, if you would like, I can send Dobby to retrieve your things from the Leaky Cauldron and you can spend the remaining 3 weeks of the holidays before term starts here with us?” Narcissa questioned the girl in front of her, knowing exactly the kind of environment that creates Obscurial and refusing to let the girl even think that she'd be forced to return to her horrible muggle relatives.

“Thank you for the offer Cissa, I’d like that.” She could feel the small smile on her face.

* * *

And that was how Harriet found herself spending the last days of her holidays at Malfoy manor, usually with her time spent between mock Quidditch matches between her and Draco once she realized she had inherited her birth father’s love of flying, though she was decidedly less sure of how she felt about Quidditch itself once Draco explained the rules and how it was played, and time spent talking with ‘Aunt Cissa’ as she insisted the girl call her, ‘We are after all family thanks to my cousin’s actions', about certain things only another witch could really explain to her that had Lucius actively avoiding any room he spotted the pair in, as well as spending hours talking about the different aspects of the history of the House of Black.

* * *

In seemingly the blink of an eye, the day of September 1st was here, and the group of 3 Malfoys, the Girl-Who-Lived, and a more than six foot long viper were stepping out of the floo network present at Platform 9 ¾ where Harriet got her first look at the cherry red steam engine that would take her and Draco to the beginning of the next 7 years at Hogwarts minus Christmas, or Yule as the Malfoys had told her wizards preferred to celebrate, where they were able to return for 2 weeks to their families in time to celebrate the holidays, and the summer break.

Hugs were exchanged between the two adults and the children, while Harriet struggled to keep Naga draped over her shoulders so he would have a harder time wandering off in search of trouble. She was totally blaming Lucius for the steady increase to her familiar's weight over the last few weeks after he took over spoiling the smug snake. She'd stored his tank that was charmed to be unbreakable and to be able to shrink as well as when empty, inside her currently shrunken trunk after the viper sent her a withering glare at the idea of being kept inside the thing more than strictly necessary.

Draco then guided her towards the train while she continued shifting the proportionally giant reptile to keep him from falling off randomly, the crowd parting quickly at the giant snake's presence. They found a compartment towards the front of the train, knowing full well at her size, she wouldn’t be able to carry the damn heavy Viper much further without collapsing.

* * *

They had just started discussing their classes and which they were looking forward to most after taking out their trunks and un-shrinking them once they were on the shelf above them and Naga had taken the chance to sprawl out across the floor of the compartment and wrapped between his human’s legs, when the door to their compartment opened with a soft click.

The two friends turned towards the dark haired boy that seemed to be as nervous as Harriet typically felt meeting people, and a girl with frizzy light brown hair.

“Excuse us? Do you mind if we join you? Everywhere else is full already except for the compartment where a red haired boy was ranting about Harriet Potter and how he’s going to try and ‘befriend her like his parents said they were meant to be’, and we’d rather not sit with someone that acts as arrogant as he did.” The girl asked them.

“Not at all, take a seat.” The two introduced themselves as Hermione Granger and Neville Longbottom. “This is Draco Malfoy.” The two shook hands with the blonde. “And I’m Harriet Potter.” The two children gasped slightly at that. “Thanks by the way, for warning me about that redhead. He sounds rather unpleasant from how you’ve described his attitude.”

“N-no problem. He was r-rather rude, boasting like th-that.” Neville stuttered out, nerves on clear display.

“Wait, rude, red hair..did you notice if he had freckles on his face at all?” Draco spoke up looking like he already knew the answer. Hermione nodded at the boy’s question.

“He must have been a Weasley then. Most of their family are like that from what a few of my father's said. Though a few of my friend's older siblings mentioned that the twins weren’t as bad as the others, they said the two came up with some entertaining pranks they pulled over the last 3 years.”

“Good to know then. I’ll be sure to ignore the newest one then.” Noticing the slight look of disapproval on Hermione’s face, Harriet was quick to explain her reasoning.

“It’s just he sounds like a rather loud person, and I’m not really good at handling too much noise at once, makes me rather nervous I guess. I’d rather talk to people who can talk at a reasonable level. They make good study partners from what I’ve heard. Besides he sounds pretty rude from how you've described his boasting.” At the mention of studying Hermione lit up like a Christmas tree.

Covering her mouth with his hand like he already knew what was about to happen, Neville explained quickly and surprisingly stutter-free. “Sorry, she could go for hours about academic stuff. Felt like I should warn you now rather than later.” Lowering his hand, Harriet could see the blush on the girl’s cheeks at her friend’s words but didn’t argue his point.

“I’ve been told I can be rather obsessive about schoolwork, sorry.” She mumbled the apology sounding embarrassed at the slight confession. Harriet and Draco both shook their heads at the girl’s words.

“There’s nothing wrong with liking to learn Granger. Let me guess, you’re muggleborn right?” He didn’t say it in the degrading tone Harriet knew he would have if he hadn’t spent the last month hearing her explain her reasoning for showing some consideration towards the students that didn’t grow up in wizarding society like she did.

He was still a bit rude at times when he got involved in certain topics, but she could also see that she’d given him a reason to try a different less judgmental perspective then the one he grew up with.

“Yes? Is that a problem Draco?” Hermione puffed out her chest slightly at the question, already sounding defensive.

“If you had asked me that same question a month ago, I would have a much different answer. But meeting Harriet here has helped me realize that the world I grew up in isn’t nearly as flawless as I used to think it was. So to answer your question, no. Being muggleborn isn’t something I have a problem with now that I’ve been shown how much trouble they tend to have adjusting to our world.”

Hermione and Neville both had a look of shock on their face at this statement.

“Oh, good. But why were you asking if I was muggleborn in the first place?”

“Because I was about to explain why a love of learning is hardly a bad thing when you’ve been dropped into the middle of an entirely new culture and world like you and Harriet were. It just shows that you want to absorb as much about your new surroundings as you can before you're put in a situation that would require an in depth knowledge of something you grew up without like potions or magical theory. Harriet's spent the last month practically living in our library since she's been staying with us the last few weeks.” At his explanation Hermione shook her head rapidly, looking pleased he put in such a well thought out way while Harriet broke into a fierce blush at her friend snitching on her own habits.

' _Traitor! I'd have Naga scare him if it wasn't for him being easily bribed with the promise of mice._ ' Harriet shook herself from her thoughts when Hermione spoke up.

“Exactly! I knew nothing about this world before the day Professor McGonnagall delivered my letter to me in person. And I feel woefully unprepared for anything about it even now after I’ve been reading about everything I can get my hands on in different history and cultural books!”

“The same thing happened to me as well! I didn’t even know I was a witch until a month ago when Professor Prince showed up at my relatives front door and explained everything to me while he helped me get my supplies. That’s actually how I ended up meeting Draco and his family who were soo helpful to me.” Harriet explained her similar situation before noting Neville’s sickly expression. Draco groaned halfheartedly.

"Great! Now I'm never going to be able to keep you from raiding the school libraries now that you've found an accomplice!" Harriet just did the totally mature thing and stuck her tongue out at the boy mockingly before all three of them noticed the way Neville had turned pale in nervousness.

“What’s wrong Nev?”

“It’s Professor Prince. I’ve heard about him from my grandmother, about how he’s supposed to be extremely strict in teaching. I’m super nervous about potions class because of him. I'm lousy at potions.” Harriet placed a comforting hand on the boy’s knee.

“You don’t have to be nervous Neville. Professor Prince can be stern most of the time, but it's because potions is a very serious subject and he takes the safety of his students extremely serious. As long as you pay attention to the instructions in class to the letter, you’ll be fine. The Gryffindors will probably claim about how unfair he is to any house besides Slytherin, but that’s only because they’re the house that takes potions the least seriously of the 4. So he’s kinda justified you know? For being more harsh towards them.”

“That...actually makes a lot of sense thinking about how easy it can be to send someone to the hospital wind over an exploded cauldron spilling various magical potions everywhere.” Hermione mumbled aloud to herself.

“If you’d like, Draco and I can tutor you over the weekends in potions? Draco’s a bloody prodigy at the subject, though I’m pretty sure having Professor Prince as his godfather gives him an unfair advantage if you ask me.” She smirked at the boy only to duck the wad of parchment he had crumpled up and tossed at her in mock annoyance.

Coincidentally Naga chose that moment to introduce himself personally when the parchment landed near his head where he was curled up tightly under Harriet’s seat and had gone unnoticed by the other two, hissing loudly as he slithered out from his spot.

“Eep! Why is there a giant snake in here?!” Hermione exclaimed, sounding a few moments from panicking as Neville looked seconds from passing out in horror.

“Sorry! I kinda forgot he was here. It’s just Naga, my snake. He’s just a bit cranky at being ignored for so long, aren’t you?” She directed the last part towards the snake in question who had managed to make his way onto the rest of the unoccupied part of the seat Harriet was in before resting his pointed head on her lap looking satisfied and slightly smug at successfully getting attention once more.

“I’m sorry but _**your**_ snake?! That’s a giant Jeweled viper that looks like it could eat you whole!”

“It’s not his fault he’s so big! Draco’s dad spent the last month making him fat off of extra mice and rabbits!” She glared at the boy in question as though he were responsible for his parents’ actions.

“Hey! He was that length before he came with you to stay at our place, don’t blame us for that.” The blonde defended jokingly.

“I didn’t think Hogwarts allowed snakes as pets for students to bring?” Hermione questioned, refusing to take her eye off the snake that just blinked back at her with his yellow eyes, looking even more smug somehow at her words. ' _Seriously?! How can one snake make so many facial expressions?!_ ' Harriet thought to herself.

“Well, normally you’re right. But after Professor Prince noticed how quickly Naga here bonded to me, he convinced the Headmaster to make an exception in my case.” She looked rather pleased at that fact, unbeknownst to anyone else in the compartment that the source of said joy being the idea that she could annoy Dumbledore with a pet he clearly disapproves of, but can’t do anything to change.

Naga himself looked rather smug at being talked about as a source of rebellion towards rules, or as smug as a snake could possibly look.

~ _ **Ssilly humanss and their ssilly ruless...**_ ~ He hissed out quietly.

~ ** _Oh hush you. I’m not about to start dealing with you being in a cocky mood right now._** ~ She hissed back, forgetting it wasn’t just her and Draco with the snake anymore when she heard the gasps from the two other student’s next to them.

“You can speak to snakes?! That’s extremely rare though isn’t it?” Hermione asked.

“Um...yes, it is. And yeah, I can speak to them. Before you say it though, speaking to snakes isn’t nearly as bad a thing as wizards like to say it is.” She spoke up, stopping the bushy haired girl from mentioning whatever ‘facts’ she may have read about.

“It’s not something I learned how to do, or something that can even be learned at all. Professor Prince explained it better than I can, but basically it’s no different than being born with blue eyes over brown when you have a parent with both eye colors. He said it was normally something called a ‘dormant genetic trait’ and that I must have inherited the active version of it that the rest of my family didn’t.”

“Like the House of Black’s history of producing metamorphmagi! Not everyone in the family has the trait of course, but every few generations it is known to surface again in their bloodline. I read about it in a book detailing the history of the different noble houses.” Harriet nodded her head at the comparison Hermione made.

“It’s exactly like that actually. So you can kinda see why I don’t shout it for the world to hear though. A lot of wizards have negative beliefs about it since the war and with You-Know-Who being a Parselmouth as well…” She trailed off at the shared looks of understanding that crossed Hermione and Neville’s faces.

“You don’t have to worry about us telling anyone right Neville?” At the boy’s nod she pressed on. “We’d never break someone’s trust like that, especially after you’ve both been so kind to us when no one else really was.” Harriet felt grateful that the two were willing to keep her secret so willingly. The conversation then turned towards school and of course the different houses.

“I just know I’ll be in Slytherin. My whole family’s been there for years.” Draco boasted slightly at that fact, seemingly proud of his family’s history in the house of the cunning.

“But isn’t that the house You-Know-Who was in? Professor McGonnagall mentioned briefly how that house has a darker reputation.”

“So what if he was part of it? That reputation is part of the issue, Hermione. ‘The house of the cunning, Ambitious, and the Resourceful’ and yet everyone seems to just see it as the house of 'slimy snakes and dark wizards and witches’. I personally can’t imagine Draco fitting in anywhere else nearly as well as he would in Slytherin, yet I also for the life of me can’t imagine him growing up to be a dark wizard.” Pausing to catch her breath and remember that these two aren’t like those blind rumor spreaders she’d heard about from Professor Prince over the summer.

“Children aren’t born dark or evil, Hermione. They only become those things when they’re forced into situations that leave them no other visible path besides darkness. I’d be damn glad to be friends with people who were resourceful or ambitious, because they’re the kind of people I know are going to be capable of achieving big things in life.”

“You do have a good point there Harriet, now that you’ve made me think about it.” Seeming to have sorted her own thoughts on the topic, Hermione gave a quick nod. “Now that I think about it from that perspective, the house of the cunning and ambitious doesn’t sound nearly at all like a bad place to be sorted after all.”

“Well, I know for a fact I wouldn’t do very well in Slytherin.” Neville spoke up. “I wouldn’t mind Hufflepuff actually, but my gran would probably kill me if I didn’t end up in Gryffindor.” Harriet could feel her eyes widening in shock at that.

“You shouldn’t let someone else influence such an important choice like this for you Nev. While I wouldn’t be shocked if you did well in the house of the lions, the house of the Badger doesn’t sound at all like a lesser choice. Loyalty, hard work, and fair hardly are bad traits to have now are they?” Harriet wondered aloud towards the end. “Heck, if I wasn’t almost sure I’m probably going to end up in Slytherin myself, I’d have to say that the house of Badgers sounds pretty damn good to me.”

“Really Potter, your language is gonna get you into trouble yet.” Draco tsked.

~ _ **The blonde boy makess an excellent point Little Sspeaker...you are too young for such wordss…**_ ~ Harriet pouted slightly at that, crossing her arms over her chest.

“You guys need to stop teaming up against me! It’s not fair!” She narrowed her eyes at them playfully before chuckling at the huff of amusement from Naga.

* * *

The 4 departed the train an hour later after taking turns to change into their school robes, and after a short trip across the lake a giant of a man guided them across, the group and their fellow first years were gathered outside the entrance to the great hall where they would be sorted.

After the stern looking witch Hermione whispered was Professor McGonagall returned to take them all into the hall where the sorting ceremony began once a battered old hat was placed upon a stool and McGonagall began reading the names of the students.

“Abbott, Hannah!”

“ **HUFFLEPUFF**!!” The hat shouted barely a moment after it was placed on the girl’s head and she jumped off the stool and headed over to the table cheering the loudest decked in yellow and black.

“Bones, Susan”

“ **HUFFLEPUFF**!!”

“Boot, Terry!”

“ **RAVENCLAW**!!”

Harriet lost track of the different names until Hermione was called.

“ **SLYTHERIN**!!”

Harriet couldn’t help clapping slightly louder for her friend’s sorting. Not long after her, Neville was called to the stool and nearly forgot to remove the hat after it called out ‘Hufflepuff’ loudly, the Badger’s table exploding in applause and a look of relief visible on the boy’s face.

The Hat had barely touched Draco’s hair before it screamed ‘Slytherin’ and he was the most proud Harriet had seen him look in days as he strolled over to the applauding table filled with Silver and Green before sitting down across from Hermione and several of his childhood friends.

“Potter, Harriet!” At that, the entire hall fell silent as gasps were heard and the whispers started as she walked towards the stool.

‘ _Did she say Potter?_ ’

‘ _Bloody hell! It’s really her!_ ’

‘ _Does she really have the scar?_ ’

Sitting upon the stool, the hat was placed upon her head where it fell over her eyes, blocking her view of the rest of the hall.

‘ ** _Hmm….Curious indeed…_** ’

‘ _Um, what’s curious? Uh, Mister Hat?'_

‘ ** _Oh now! Such manners from one so young. I rarely see such things in children these days sadly.’_**

‘ _Really? Well that doesn’t sound very nice._ ’

‘ _ **Indeed it isn’t, Miss Potter. But not to worry. Children are rarely in need of such things so early in life, and it is to be expected, I think, that they act more like the children they are rather than the future lords and ladies of noble houses like yourself and young Mister Malfoy.’**_

‘ _You know about that?_ ’ Harriet couldn’t help but think, worrying for a second just how obvious it was.

‘ ** _Not to worry my dear. Few young wizards recognize an heirship ring at first glance like the ones you possess. After all, an heir of the house of Black hasn’t entered these halls in nearly 2 decades now. And even fewer view them as important as other matters after all. Your secrets are safe with me, not even the Headmaster has the right or power to make me reveal any secrets belonging to the student’s I’ve seen the minds of._** ’ At that she left out a sigh of relief.

‘ _Thank you._ ’

‘ ** _But of course Miss Black-Potter. Now then, where shall I be placing you tonight, hmm?_** ’

‘ _Anywhere’s fine really. Except Gryffindor. I don’t see myself doing well there honestly.’_

' **Hmm, you are right in your assumption. Gryffindor really wouldn’t be a good fit for someone of your talents, Miss Potter, despite your parent’s being sorted there, and it would be a shame to see such a sharp mind like your’s be left to stagnate. Not to worry, I believe I’ve thought my decision through well enough. Hmm, yes, fiercely protective to those few you are able to truly trust in this world, with an unwavering thirst for knowledge and the ambition to seek it out for yourself...as well as a quick wit and sharp mind when you find yourself driven in the subject...but insecure about who you are due to a lack of those willing to prove to you otherwise what those undeserving have spoken your entire life. Yes, the more I think about it, the more I am certain I have the perfect place for you Miss Potter...Better be-** ’ The hat spoke aloud through it’s torn seam of a mouth then.

“ **SLYTHERIN** _ **!!**_ ”


	5. Chapter 5

The silence that blanketed the hall was telling. The shock nearly everyone else present was left feeling at the mere idea of the Girl-Who-Lived being a ‘snake’. Harriet snatched the hat off her head and handed it to a stunned Professor McGonagall, before making her way over to the table the other Slytherins were seated at.

Draco and Hermione started clapping clearly, before the rest of the table slowly broke the spell and came out of their state of shock and started clapping quieter. Taking a seat next to Draco and smiling at both her friends, the rest of the hall seemed to snap out of their shock as well and the sorting continued on before eventually ending with Blaise Zabini joining Slytherin as well, sitting across from Harriet and beside Hermione. Harriet noticed their head of house had a slight smirk on his face at the sight of her in Slytherin.

* * *

With a small speech from Professor Dumbledore about the various rules and a series of odd words being spoken in parting (Hop Frog, Morella, Lenore, and Gold-bug), the empty dishes in front of her filled with more kinds of food than Harriet had ever seen in her life.

“He’s rather mad isn’t he? Dumbledore?” She whispered to Draco, who nodded in agreement as he filled his plate. A snort drew their attention to an older Slytherin seated near them.

“I would have thought the ‘Girl-Who-Lived’ of all people wouldn’t dare refer to the head of the light side as being anything other than ‘amazing’.” The boy sneered, being roughly 2 or 3 years older than her group of friends.

“ ‘Amazing’? Ha!” At this she couldn’t help but giggle slightly at the idea. “Albus Dumbledore is hardly what I would call _amazing_. The man passed me off to magic hating muggles the night after my family was murdered. Why would I have any reason to feel anything positive for the man?”

Well then, that certainly drew the attention of the older Slytherins towards her which had her feeling slightly nervous at all the pointed looks directed towards her.

“W-What?”

“He did that? He seriously left you with muggles of all people?” An older girl spoke up further down the table from the boy who had spoken a few minutes ago. Harriet noticed a small badge pinned to the front of her robes with a ‘P’ shining in the light.

“Um..yes?” She could feel the blush spreading slowly across her cheeks at all the attention.

“We heard that you grew up with distant relatives in a different country or something. That you’d been training for years to be the ‘Champion of the Light’ so to speak.” She furrowed her brows at that.

“Where in the world did that idea come from exactly?” She asked, baffled at the very idea of something that ridiculous.

“The Daily Prophet spits those stories out like candy.” The girl with the badge mentioned, frowning slightly at the change in perspective the smaller girl in front of her was causing in a number of the older Slytherins. Harriet wouldn’t know this herself of course, not for several years in fact when looking back on the moment.

“Rita Skeeter is the head of the Prophet’s gossip department,” Draco spoke up for the first time in the conversation. “She writes all the articles about celebrities in fact. Father says she’s one of the biggest reasons the Prophet's such a joke these days.” Several members of her house were nodding in agreement with the blonde’s words.

“Any chance your dad can get me in contact with a good law firm? I have a feeling I’m going to need one in the coming weeks because I certainly didn't agree to having my name posted in any articles.” Draco nodded his head in agreement, making a comment about writing his father about the matter tomorrow morning.

After the conversation broke up and everyone went back to their own plates and subjects of conversation, Draco elbowed her lightly, directing her attention to the head table.

“Dumbledore doesn’t look too happy now does he? I wonder why that is?” She could hear the smirk on his voice as she followed his suggestion and noticed that indeed, the Headmaster had a small frown on his face and a look of mild annoyance in his eyes. She felt a slight probing sensation against her mind once she met his eyes only for it to be forced away. ' _Thank you paranoid Black's.._ ' She thought to herself, thinking on the fact that her heir ring was apparently enchanted to ward against Legilimency attempts, as Narcissa explained over the last few weeks of the break. Her Potter heir ring apparently also protected her from various poisons and other harmful potions effects.

After dessert and helping herself to 2 portions of treacle tart while promptly ignoring the look of amusement on Draco’s face at her fondness for the dessert, Professor Dumbledore bid the hall goodnight and their house Prefects guided her and the rest of her fellow first year Slytherins towards the Dungeons that apparently held their common room.

Stopping outside what looked to be a blank section of stone wall, the girl Prefect, Gemma Farley, spoke up for the first time since guiding them all from the great hall.

“This here is the entrance to our common room. The password changes every 2 weeks and is posted on the notice board you’ll find inside. Don’t forget it, because none of us are going to help you if you accidentally lock yourselves out.” At this she turned back towards the blank wall that Harriet now noticed had a small inscription of a coiled snake tucked into the right pillar a few feet to the side.

“Boomslang” The previously blank wall revealed a hidden door which swung open then and the group followed the two Prefects into the common room they would spend most of their time during the school term in.

After giving the group of curious first years a minute to take in the room around them, Gemma passed them over to their head of house, who turned out to be none other than their potions professor.

“My name is Professor Prince, and as Miss Farley so clearly pointed out, I am the head of Slytherin house. Your house, for the next 7 years will serve as your home while at Hogwarts and your housemates with be a sort of family while here, therefore you will each do your part to keep the area clean and free from any messes. No one will be cleaning up after any of you, you’re all Slytherins, not Gryffindors making a mess wherever they go so act like it.” At this several of the older students lingering around the common room in small groups started chuckling under their breaths.

“There are only 3 rules in Slytherin. Rule one, present a united front in the presence of the other 3 houses. I am certain that most of you have been made aware that our house is subject to numerous rumors that lead to an overall negative outlook from certain other houses. Thus you must each stand united against those who possess these less than desirable opinions. Rule number two, all matters of the house are to be kept inside the common room. Failure to resolve such matters privately will result in the rest of the house isolating you for a period of time that is determined based upon the matter itself.” Professor Prince paused for a moment to let his words sink in.

“Rule number three, don’t get caught.“ At this, she heard the slight snort coming from Draco who was standing next to her.

“Tomorrow morning you will each receive your class schedules at breakfast, as well as a time at some point over the next two weeks in which you are to report to the Hospital wing where Madam Pomfrey will be performing a physical evaluation of each of you to determine any concerns that should be brought to my attention will be at this time.” With that he turned and swept out of the room through a side door Harriet hadn’t noticed before now, his cape billowing in the wind dramatically.

The prefects guided them up the respective staircases which lead to the boy’s dormitories and the girl’s separately with the boys taking the left, while the girl’s followed Gemma up the right. After being shown their separate rooms, which had Harriet feeling thankful that Salazar Slytherin was such a private person, the group headed into their rooms for the night.

~ _ **Little Sspeaker?**_ ~ She broke into a smile at the sight of her familiar already coiled across her large four poster bed. Taking in the emerald green sheets and matching drapes hanging from her bed, she couldn’t help but feel like the hat had placed her well in the house that seemed to so easily match her own tastes in color scheme.

~ _ **Naga! I missed you at dinner.**_ ~ She sat down on the bed where her snarky friend rested his head on her leg.

~ ** _Good! I wass bored without you here Little Sspeaker._** ~ She rolled her eyes slightly at the snarky comment.

It wasn’t long before she was changed out of her robes and into a comfy set of pajamas in her new bed with her familiar coiled into her side.

‘ _I’m finally here..._ ’ Was the last thought in her mind before drifting off to sleep at last.

* * *

The next morning had Harriet being woken to the sound of a loud thump against the floor. Rubbing the remnants of the previous night’s sleep from her eyes, she looked over the side of her bed for the source of the sound before promptly breaking into a fit of giggles at the pile of irate Jeweled Viper hissing from the floor at finding himself displaced from his warm sleeping spot.

~ ** _Sstupid gravity...pulling me from my sslumber…_** ~ Casting a quick tempest that Lucius had taken the time to show her and Draco over the summer along with a small handful of simple spells they would find helpful, and noticing it was an hour before everyone was suppose to head towards the Great Hall for breakfast, she leaned over the side of the bed at her seemingly restless Snake.

~ _ **Well good morning to you too, sleepy head. Maybe I should look into making you your own nest under the bed so you don’t accidentally fall off of mine in the middle of the night?**_ ~ The only response coming from Naga being an annoyed huff and continued grumblings about the laws of gravity.

After going about her morning routine and getting dressed in fresh clothes and a fresh set of robes, she was feeling more wide awake than before.

Searching through the compartment of her trunk where she stored all of her new clothing, Harriet found what she was looking for and pulled out a large blanket she had purchased during one the previous trips to Diagon Alley Narcissa had taken her over the summer for more clothing and books where she had decided to add the fluffy green blanket with the large snake embroidered on it that reminded her of a certain often grumpy serpent she knew.

Lifting the ends of the blankets on her bed, she pushed the folded blanket under the bed and left Naga to investigate his new nest for himself while she transferred the rest of her clothing into the large wardrobe standing against the one wall of her surprisingly large room. The addition of her own private bathroom being the detail she enjoyed the most. ‘ _Thank Salazar for Slytherins’ being such private people._ ’

After checking her wand was secured to the holster strapped to her right arm and that all her books and writing supplies were in her shoulder bag that Aunt Cissa had taken the time to personally charm with several of the same charms currently placed upon her trunk including an extra anti-theft jynx that would cause any would be thief to burst out into rather painful blisters over their entire body. She couldn’t help but feel appreciative of her Aunt’s understanding of her desire for keeping her belongings safe. Harriet then headed out the door to the hallway before heading down to the rest of the common room to wait for the rest of her fellow first years before they all headed out together towards the Great Hall for breakfast.

* * *

It was there that, true to word, their head of house walked over to their table and began passing out their schedules for the year.

Taking the piece of parchment in question, she offered a quiet ‘thank you’ in response before the man walked away while she was swiftly reminded of the fact that Draco was in no way a morning person, from the way his head was face-down on the table and she could hear the grumbling about ‘stupid Gryffindors’.

Looking at her schedule, she couldn’t help but agree with her friend’s statement upon noticing they had double Potions and Charms on Friday, both with Gryffindor. ‘ _Well then, this is going to be an interesting year.._ ’

After checking that day’s schedule and noting they only had Charms with Ravenclaw and Gryffindor and Herbology with Hufflepuff with a free period between the two, as well as the time her evaluation would be this Sunday, she turned her attention towards the platters filled with food and helped herself to a small plate of eggs and a few slices of bacon with a side of toast knowing her years under her relatives ' _tender_ ' care had left her with a severely diminished appetite even after the month Narcissa had worked with her to start correcting the malnutrition. 

Looking around the rest of the hall, Harriet couldn’t help but savor the fact that besides Ravenclaw and a small number of Hufflepuffs, the hall was blissfully empty of any Gryffindors. ‘ _At least breakfast will be quiet for a while._ ’

Shortly after the first groups of still half-asleep lions started flowing into the great hall 20 minutes later, Hermione helped her drag a barely conscious Draco in the direction of their first Charms class of the year.

Hermione rambled on about how today’s lesson would simply be an introductory lecture about the theory behind the subject rather than any actual practical application quite yet. “Honestly, I wouldn’t be surprised if the Gryffindors thought that we’d all be jumping right into spells. I may not have a lot of experience in the magical world yet, but even I know how dangerous it is to risk messing with even the simplest spells.” Harriet listened attentively to her new friend as she rambled about the dangers behind unsafe attempts at weaving basic spells.

“-honestly it's more astounding that there haven’t been more incidents reported about students being injured during classes... Sorry! I’m rambling again aren’t I? I really do seem to do that a lot, don’t I?” Harriet just shook her head firmly at the look of growing worry on her friend’s face.

“Relax Hermione, Draco and I don’t mind a bit of rambling, right?” Directing the last part of her statement towards the blonde in question who nodded in agreement.

“It's actually somewhat helpful knowing someone already that knows how important being safe still is. It just means that none of us are going to be actively causing any accidental trips to the hospital wing anytime soon, right?”

“See? Neither of us mind if you’re passionate about one topic or another Hermione, we’re still gonna be your friend regardless if you can spend 10 minutes talking about a single topic without another person’s input.” Seeing the relieved look on the girl’s face, Harriet pulled the girl into a side hug briefly.

“Real friends are what Slytherins are about after all right? ‘Where you’ll make your true friends’. So keep in mind that even if other people get annoyed by it, Draco and I are both gonna stick by your side as your friends. Same with Neville. Always.” The trio caught up with the rest of their housemates waiting in front of the closed door to the Charms classroom where the group of Ravenclaws were already waiting but the Gryffindors had yet to arrive.

The door opened to allow the group to enter the room as Harriet spotted the first group of approaching lions round the corner leading to the classroom. Taking their seats in the same row, Harriet was grateful for having the chance to partner with her friends for the class.

* * *

After Professor Flitwick took roll call, letting out a squeak of surprise when reaching her name, nearly falling off his pile of books serving as a makeshift step for the rather short wizard. ‘ _Surely he could just conjure a step stool? Even a sturdy box would be safer than books!_ ’ She thought to herself.

They then began the introductory lecture about their first spell they would begin learning in a few days, Hermione even managing to earn their house 5 points for answering several of the Professor’s questions correctly. Harriet and the other Slytherin’s clapped quietly at that, while the Ravenclaws locked slightly impressed by the girl’s academic knowledge and the Gryffindors just glared in their direction.

* * *

Once the class was dismissed at the end of the hour, Harriet offered to head to the library to get a head start on the half foot essay about that day’s lecture since they had a free period next. The two agreeing with her idea of keeping ahead on their homework now, while it was still simple, rather than avoiding it for later and setting a bad example for the future when their workload would become steadily harder as the year progressed.

“No need to start acting like a bunch of lazy Gryffindors after all.” Draco commented, sounding slightly arrogant at the idea. Harriet merely rolled her eyes at her friend’s antics, knowing by now that the boy would most likely always have at least a slight arrogant side to him, especially regarding the house of Lions.

Half way through the remaining hour and having finished her own essay, Harriet took the time to browse through several of the shelves of books personally. It was here that she came across a rather large tome titled ‘Guarding of the Mind: A Beginner’s Guide Towards a Basic Understanding and Practical Application of Occlumency’ by Phineas Black. ' _I wonder if there's any connection between him and Sirius.._ '

“Huh, this might just prove useful..” After checking out the book from Madam Pince with a warning regarding the book’s ensured safety and condition, Harriet returned to the table towards the back of the room where she’d left her friends as they finished their own essays.

“Occlumency? Why do you need to learn something like that?” Draco questioned upon glancing at the book’s title. Harriet just shrugged her shoulders slightly.

“I figured it would be helpful to try and learn. Besides, Professor Prince mentioned briefly about how it can be helpful for learning to better organize one’s emotions and thoughts. I for one am looking forward to getting that sort of extra help with how shite I am at dealing with handling stronger emotions occasionally.”

“Really Harriet, your language is appalling.” Hermione reprimanded halfheartedly, already absorbed into looking through the book. She just rolled her eyes slightly at her friend’s attention already being consumed by the book knowing she'd now have to wait to get a chance to look through it herself. ' _Not that I need it urgently, what with my heir ring.'_

“So should I assume you both are curious for a chance to read this as well?” At the eager nods from both her friends, she just smiled slightly and agreed to lend it to Draco once she’d finished reading it herself after Hermione finished with it.

* * *

Herbology afterwards was interesting, with Neville being in their group as Professor Sprout spent half the class going over the various pieces of equipment and safety precautions they all had to follow to the letter due to the varying levels of danger the different species of magical plants could pose if they weren’t careful. Neville had even poked through his shell of nerves when he earned his house 10 points for proper technique while trimming the leaves of their lashvines which had the rest of Hufflepuff congratulating the boy as they all left the greenhouse at the end of class.

“See Nev? All you have to remember is to be yourself and not worry about what others might think and you’ll do fine. Besides, you seem to have a knack for Herbology. I’m pretty sure my plant was trying to actually kill me, yet you didn’t have any trouble with yours.” At the slight praise, the boy blushed slightly before stuttering once about how he grew up interested in the subject while Harriet rubbed her neck where the damn vine tried to strangle her before Professor Sprout managed to hit it with a severing charm.

* * *

The Next day they had Transfiguration with Hufflepuff and Defense Against the Dark Arts with Gryffindor. Hermione earned their house another 3 points for answering 2 questions and Harriet successfully transfigured her matchstick into a needle on her third attempt at the spell. Hermione had been the only one to manage it on the first try while Draco got it on his second. Professor McGonagall begrudgingly awarded each of them 2 points each for being the only ones to successfully complete the spell before the end of class.

Defense was an entirely different matter however. She imagined that it would actually be a fascinating subject if their Professor wasn’t so seemingly afraid of his own subject. The man’s stutter was worse than Neville’s ever was and made it nearly impossible to actually follow anything the man said. Looking up from her notes she had just finished writing down, Harriet had glanced briefly at the back of Quirrell’s purple turban when she felt a searing pain lance across her face along her scar that was covered by her hair like usual.

Hermione had looked over in concern when she was forced to rest her head against the cool table they were seated at and raised her hand to get their teacher’s attention.

“Professor? I need to bring Harriet to the hospital wing.” Helping her stand and gathering their belongings into their bags before slinging Harriet’s over her own shoulder, her friend guided her out of the room and towards the direction of the Hospital wing.

“Are you alright Harriet?”

“I’m fine. It’s just a bad migraine, I think.” She didn’t feel like addressing the issue of her scar while her head felt as though it were about to split open.

Entering the Hospital wing, Madam Pomfrey hurried over to them.

“Migraine. I get them sometimes.” She managed to get out through the pounding headache that had taken hold. The woman guided her to a nearby bed and instructed her to rest while she went to grab a potion that would help.

“You can head back to class ‘mione. I’ll be fine in a few hours with a bit of rest.” After the girl departed from the wing and Madam Pomfrey returned with the potions that would help manage the pain, she finally felt the pounding start to lessen.

“You’ll need to rest for a few hours dear, let the potion do it’s work. You should be fit to leave in time for dinner, not to worry dear.” Nodding to the mediwitch, she closed her eyes as the curtains were drawn shut around her bed to give her a bit of quiet to actually rest, before drifting off to sleep for the rest of the afternoon. Her dreams as always were plague with flashes of green light and sounds of a high, cold, laughter.

By the time she awoke, several hours had passed, and Madam Pomfrey dismissed her 20 minutes before dinner was set to begin, so she headed down the halls and towards the great hall.

“Miss Potter.” The cool voice of their head of house spoke quietly from behind her once she had sat at the Slytherin table, making her jump in slight shock not having noticed he was even in the room.

‘ _He’s like a shadow! How the hell does he move so quietly?!_ ’ She grumbled to herself internally.

She turned towards him. “Professor?”

“Madam Pomfrey has informed me of your brief stay in the hospital wing this afternoon, therefore the time of your evaluation has just been moved up to Friday immediately after classes conclude.” He informed her, both of them knowing full well that she had only his class that day.

“O-of course sir.” He jerked his head in a quick nod before turning back in the direction of the head table, his cape billowing dramatically like always as the other Slytherins started filling into the hall followed by the Ravenclaw’s. Her two friends were quick to take their spots on either side of her, quietly bombarding her about whether or not she was okay.

“Relax guys! It was just a bad migraine, like I told you in the hospital wing Hermione. I’m perfectly okay.” Finally being mollified over their friend’s words, Hermione pulled out her copy of the notes on Quirrell’s lecture from the rest of class and passed it to Harriet who thanked her for them while Draco was piling food on his plate.

The rest of the night passed thankfully uneventfully by the time Harriet returned to the girl’s dormitory in the common room, and greeted Naga who she heard hissed out a greeting from below the bed where she’d presumed he’d made himself comfortable in his new nest.

‘ _I am never getting that blanket back now. At least he has his own space to not bury me every morning._ ’ She mused to herself, reflecting back on the fact it was almost certainly Lucius’ influence for turning her snake into an over possessive hoarder. She then drifted off to sleep after finishing her nightly routine and bidding Naga goodnight.

Dumbledore’s POV:

Albus Dumbledore was concerned that night, pacing back and forth across his office. The subject of his concern being the young girl who should have, in his mind, been placed in Gryffindor rather than the house of snakes she was instead sorted into by the blasted hat.

“This is not part of the plan! The girl should have longed to be in the same house as her beloved parents with whom Severus should have provided just enough information about in order to establish a desire to follow in their footsteps. But Instead she’s sorted into the darkest house of them all! This won’t do at all of course, no one within that house stays good after all…” The old man was mumbling to himself that last part, the portraits of past headmasters and headmistresses looking increasingly concerned about the man’s ramblings.

“Of course if her house is making her feel unwelcome which they almost certainly are with that Malfoy boy and know-it-all Granger, perhaps the girl will be inclined to agree to a resort? Yes that would solve things quite nicely indeed, why I’d be shocked if she lasted a month before finding her way to my office to request for herself a change of house. And then I can convince her to restore access to her vaults to me and remove her blasted heir ring that's keeping me from reading her mind. The meddling goblins must have given them to her when she went to access her vault. It's well within my rights as the girl's guardian as well as the headmaster to know the thoughts of my students. The ring will have to go of course..” At this the disturbed faces of the portraits all felt their unease grow at the increasingly mad words of the current Headmaster.

“And this letter! Blasted Goblins meddling where they don’t belong!” Gesturing to the letter in mention sitting opened upon his cluttered desk where it informed the Headmaster about a building wide audit was conducted across all vaults within Gringotts and several anomalies were discovered within the Dumbledore family vault.

‘ _...Several hundred thousand Galleons were found to have illegally been acquired from the Potter family vault and thus have been returned to their rightful vault as well as a 50% interest rate being applied resulting in the total removal of 647,000 Galleons, as well as numerous Potter, Longbottom, and Peverell family heirlooms back to their rightful family’s vaults and the accountant of the Dumbledore family responsible for these thefts, Goblin Gornuk, has been beheaded by the Goblin nation. A new accountant will be assigned to your vaults upon your next visit to Gringotts. It also has come to our attention that a priceless heirloom of the Potter family has been removed from the building entirely and thus we of the goblin nation must request it’s immediate return or we will be forced to freeze the Dumbledore family accounts as well as all other current accounts under your name until it’s safe return to its rightful owner…_ ”

“Those goblins don’t know whom they’re threatening! Such items are within my right to do as I wish as acting guardian to the girl! Though it seems I’ll have to return the blasted cloak to the girl earlier than expected in order to prevent the bloody goblins from freezing my accounts. Indeed, that may work in my favor in fact! Yes, provide the girl an heirloom of her precious family and cement the image Severus no doubt painted in her mind of my grandfatherly guise. It may even help to further convince the girl that she would fit in better with the rest of the lions and to agree to a resort and to start investigating the third floor corridor earlier then expected.” In the midst of his ravings, the current Headmaster of Hogwarts failed to notice when one of the surrounding portraits suddenly emptied of its own former Slytherin Headmaster.

**Severus’ P.O.V.:**

Severus was attempting to ease the splitting headache which currently plagued him since the last class of the day left. ‘ _Dunderhead Gryffindors can’t even provide a proper half page essay on the uses of Dragon blood_.’ He thought bitterly about the summer homework he had assigned at the end of the previous year to his now second year Gryffindor and Ravenclaw class. ‘ _At the very least I won’t have to concern myself over the quality of Ravenclaws’ work, blasted eagles excel in the theoretical aspect of potions even if their practical application of the art is lacking slightly.._ ’

And then there was the more concerning matter of the Potter's medical exam earlier from that afternoon that Pomfrey sent the results of to him, being the girl's head of house. He'd told Potter that her exam was moved to the next day, but Pomfrey had taken the opportunity with the girl in the hospital wing that afternoon to get it out of the way then, before she'd passed out from the pain relief potion, not bothering to inform him of that particular fact when she mentioned the girl's visit until after handing him the parchment.

Severus prayed that the document he was looking at was in some way wrong, prayed that Dumbledore hadn't left her with muggle's so cruel as to inflict this level of damage to the young girl. But he knew Pomfrey would never falsify a student's medical information, and so he knew the results of the numerous diagnostic spells that were cast were 100% fact...

_13 improperly healed fractures, a decade's worth of severe malnutrition, over 100 scars across her arms and back from years of physical beatings and abuse several far to fresh to have occurred more than a month before the summer's start, signs of lingering infection from past lacerations..._

_'Merlin's Balls! The girl's lucky to even be alive at this point! No doubt that her magic accelerated the healing process enough and staved off the worse of the infection being the only reason she's even still breathing.'_ Severus felt no small amount of horror for the girl's suffering at the hands of her animalistic relatives. ' _I'll speak with Pomfrey about starting her on a regime of potions to hopefully start writing some of the damage at least. As well as to look into getting the girl a mind healer at the same time._ ' He felt increasing amounts of furry at the fact that he hadn't been able to end the pathetic waste of life that was the girl's Uncle when he had the man at wandpoint. 

It was when he opened his eyes once more after massaging his temples that he spotted out of the corner of his right eye the usually absent form of Phineas Black.

It was a tightly held secret known only among those few who had held the title of potions master at Hogwarts after the former Headmaster’s death, that Phineas served briefly in his time as a professor of Hogwarts before attaining the position of Headmaster, as the resident potions master. It was during this brief period that he decided to have a secret third portrait of himself made that would link to the others currently within the Headmaster’s office and the Ancestral Black townhouse of Grimmauld Place.

“Phineas? To what do I owe this visit tonight, hmm?” Severus cast a wordless silencing charm upon the office once the door clicked shut with a flick of his wand ensuring privacy between the two.

“The headmaster of course.” Black rolled his eyes harshly at the mention of the old fool. “I’ve overheard him rambling to himself within that precious office of his about how he planned to manipulate a young Slytherin girl into being resorted into Gryffindor as well as waging an attempt at forcibly removing her heir ring.” At this Severus’ blank mask shattered into a thunderous look.

“WHAT?! You mean to tell me the fool would tempt something so strongly against regulations?” At the Portrait’s grim nod, he took a moment to smooth his face back into it’s mask before sighing in annoyance at the idea of yet another of the man’s manipulations. “I would wager it as a safe bet to assume the girl in question is Miss Potter-Black?”

“Indeed it is, Severus my friend. Though I find myself curious as to how exactly she earned that particular title?” Severus then explained to the past Head of the house of Black the events that occurred the second day he had known the girl which ended with her claiming the heir ring for his ancient house.

“Truly? My useless great great grandson, whom you’ve talked in great detail about being a disgrace to the family name all these years, was willing to blood adopt the girl? It seems we both underestimated the man in the end.” Severus scowled at the reminder that the mutt had indeed proven cunning in the end.

“If that is the case, and she truly claimed priority over her ties to the house of Black rather then her birth family as you claim she did, then she is, for all intents and purposes, a Black in both blood and name. You would do well to pass along the message to the girl herself, Severus. From how the headmaster was referring to her, he does not appear to be aware of her acceptance of the Black name, nor have I heard any mention of other students referring to her as such from the other portraits.” Severus conceded that the man raised a fair point.

“It would be preferable that she be informed exactly what wearing that ring entails as soon as possible. Very well, I’ll pass the message along tomorrow privately. The girl’s first potions class is then and will provide the ideal cover to speak privately with her after the class has ended.” Phineas nodded his head in agreement.

"There's also the concern about him attempting to use Legilimency on the poor girl but having failed due in part to wearing her heir ring." At this bit of information Severus' control over his emotions snapped and his magic lashed out in pure rage, destroying his office entirely, before the protective enchantments kicked in and began righting the damage.

"HE DID WHAT?!?!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Harriet's Schedule:
> 
> Monday- Double Transfiguration with Hufflepuff
> 
> Tuesday- DADA with Ravenclaw and History of Magic with Huflfepuff
> 
> Wednesday (first day of classes their first week due to September 1st falling on a Tuesday)- Charms with Ravenclaw and Gryffindor and Herbology with Hufflepuff
> 
> Thursday- Transfiguration with Hufflepuff and DADA with Ravenclaw
> 
> Friday- Double Potions with Gryffindor and Charms with Gryffindor
> 
> Yes, I know this isn't actually how Harry's schedule was in canon but I've kindly taken canon out back and put it down because no. lol. Also I'm planning a fairly important change to how Halloween ends up going that revolves around Harriet and the other Slytherin's having two separate classes with Gryffindor that day while maintaining the fact that Ron insults Hermione in charms and providing an excuse to have Snape present before the troll incident. Hence Friday having both charms and potions. Also I wanted to give Snape a chance to show just how awesome a head of house he can be at times which he now will have lol.
> 
> Also, the reason Wendsday's Charms class had three houses is because of the fact that Gryffindor currently only has roughly 8 first years this year without Hermione, Harriet, or Neville, and thus will sometimes be squeezed into classes already with two houses.
> 
> Next chapter will be up hopefully at some point in the next day and it covers the first potions class with Gryffindor, information regarding Lucius' work with getting Sirius free, and possibly a surprise appearance towards the end by everyone's favorite prankster twins lol.


	6. Important Discussions, twins, and Revelations

Breakfast the next morning saw the year’s first delivery of mail, as the Great hall was flooded with various owls delivery letters and packages to various students. Harriet was only slightly surprised to see Aunt Cissa’s silver Eagle owl touch down on the table in front of her, fork full of eggs suspended halfway towards her mouth in slight shock.

Looking at Draco, who merely shrugged at his mother’s owl making an appearance before untying the letter wrapped around his father’s large black Eagle owl and passing a piece of bacon to the grumpy looking bird before it took off.

“I'd wager mother just wanted to see how you were adjusting to Hogwarts and all that. Father sent a similar letter.” He waved his own letter in the air briefly.

Stroking a finger gently against the side of the elegant owl’s head, knowing full well it would refuse any food not from Narcissa herself, the large bird extended it’s leg before lowering it again once she untied the letter around it.

‘ _Harriet,_

_Narcissa has agreed to send this letter for me to along with her own. I hope you and Draco are enjoying your time at Hogwarts so far, and haven't gotten into any trouble already. I imagine Narcissa will share similar words in her own letter so I won't pester you any further about such matters that she'll no doubt include. Regardless I have some important news to share about your father's trial._

_I imagine that you will be overjoyed to learn that it has been approved once the matter was investigated by Miss Bones. Unfortunately it seems I had underestimated the extent that his time in Azkaban has caused to his state of mind. He has been approved to visit a mind healer in the meantime to begin correcting the damage his exposure to the Dementors has inflicted upon him. Once it was mentioned that I knew you personally and had informed him about how you'd grown up, needless to say Sirius was more than willing to ignore our past animosity as I have and is looking forward to proven his innocence at last and being able to meet you in person._

_We've spent as much time discussing the actual details of the upcoming trial as we have talking about you. He's rather emotional as I write this letter to hear that you've accepted the Black heriship so soon despite not knowing him personally. The man is certainly eager to meet you when the time comes._

_Rest assured he is in the very best hands money can secure and has been staying at one of the Black family properties on house arrest as the matters concerning his trial are being sorted while attending to his mental health rather than being forced to remain in his cell in Azkaban. His trial has been extended to account for this until after his mental health has been verified officially._

_This however means that rather than the month I had estimated it being required before the trial could commence, it will instead take place the first week of Yule break. On the positive side however, this removes the possibility of the state of his mental health being brought against him in court as an excuse to stop him from gaining custody over you legally. With the use of Veritaserum, I feel it is almost certain that Sirius will be free once more and cleared of all charges by Yule. Good luck in your classes Harriet. You’ll do great things I can tell._

_L. Malfoy_

_Ps. Narcissa’s currently glaring at me for forgetting this detail, but we are extending an invitation of course to visit Malfoy Manor for the holidays this year and would be most grateful if you would be willing to accept. Also Dobby says hello, he’s grown rather fond of you during your visit over the summer. I imagine you can expect a few extra deliveries of treats from him as well as Narcissa.’_

Harriet couldn’t help but feel overjoyed at what she’d just read. ‘ _I’m actually going to be able to spend time with family. I’ll actually have a family for once..._ ’. She barked out a laugh at the bottom note that had Draco raising an eyebrow at her before she showed him what his dad mentioned about the funny elf as Hermione was hunched over the book she’d borrowed from the library the day before. 

“It sounds as though Mother is conspiring with that elf to adopt you herself. She only sends food to those she sees as family.”

‘ _A rather large family it seems..._ ’ The warm feeling settling in her stomach lasted until they reached the closed door to the potions classroom where the Gryfifndors were surprisingly already gathered outside before directing several glares at the group of Slytherins in front of them.

* * *

“Oi, Potter!” Turning her attention away from Draco who had been talking excitedly about their upcoming potions lesson, she looked the redhead in the eyes.

“Yes?” Draco just scowled at the boy in disdain, Harriet remembering his dislike for the boy’s entire family just about.

“It must be embarrassing huh? Growing up the champion of the light only to be dropped in the pit with the other slimy snakes?” Weasley sneered at her, making her raise her eyebrow at the ignorant boy.

“Not that it’s anything involving you, Weasley, but I’m actually rather fond of my house in fact. Everyone I’ve met has been kind so far when they introduced themselves, unlike you who insulted a girl you’ve never even spoken to in two different ways within the same breath. If it's a choice between being in a house with people as rude as you, or people who have been nothing but kind to me these last few days, then I’m more than happy to be in the house of the cunning.” The boy's face turned the same shade of red as his hair when he opened his mouth to let out another cutting response only to be interrupted.

“10 points from Gryffindor Mister Weasley, for disrespecting a fellow student as well as their entire house.” The cool voice of their Potions Professor spoke up from the now open door before he turned towards her. “5 points to Slytherin, Miss Potter, for demonstrating a united front.” Professor Prince then turned on his heels before beckoning them all into the room and to their seats.

Harriet took her seat in the front left row of the room with Draco taking the seat beside her and they exchanged grins briefly, excited about the class. Glancing around the room she noticed, unsurprised, how the rest of their fellow Slytherins had filled in along the rest of the left side of the room while the Gryffindors were subtly glaring at them from the right.

Professor Prince didn’t pause on her name when attendance was taken, which she was grateful for.

“As half of you are already well aware, I am Professor Prince.” He spoke quietly, though the entire class heard him as well as if he had shouted, the room was that silent. “You are here to learn the subtle science and exact art of potion-making. As there is little foolish wand-waving here, many of you will hardly believe this is magic. I don’t expect you will really understand the beauty of the softly simmering cauldron with its shimmering fumes, the delicate power of liquids that creep through human veins, bewitching the mind, ensnaring the senses. . . I can teach you how to bottle fame, brew glory, even stopper death — if you aren’t as big a bunch of dunderheads as I usually have to teach.” The Gryffindors just looked on with bored expressions while the Slytherins looked on in rapt attention.

Glancing around the room, the slightest uptick in the corner of his mouth being how Harriet knew that the Slytherins’ were in for a show, when his attention landed on Weasley who looked close to falling asleep from boredom.

“Weasley!” He barked, startling the boy in question awake. “What would I get by combining powered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?” Harriet remembered reading about the resulting sleeping drought earlier in the summer in their ‘official’ potions textbook. She noticed that Pansy had lightly elbowed Hermione in the row behind them when it looked like the girl was about to raise her hand.

“Just watch.” Harriet heard the girl whisper to her frizzy-haired friend.

From the flushed look on his face, it would seem Weasley hadn’t even bothered reading the first chapter of his book which she knew detailed the various types of sleeping draughts, before coming to class. “No answer? Pity.” Moving to another Gryffindor he asked his second question.

“Thomas! Where would you look, if I were to ask you to find me a bezoar?” The boy looked confused as to even what that was. ‘ _Chapter 2 is Cures for Various Poisons! Do Gryffindors really just ignore reading a book at all?_ ’ Harriet thought to her slightly annoyed at the house’s ignorance at something so simple.

‘ _Hermione’s head would probably implode at the idea of being part of a house that was seemingly against the very idea of academic interest like the Gryffindors. She's probably feeling a bit relieved right about now for the hat not putting her in her the of the lions.’_

“Nothing? Shocking.” It was said in a mocking tone, Harriet feeling a slight grin spreading across her face at the mocking look of boredom on her head of house's face. Looking around once more, the man's eye landed on who she remembered distantly as Finnegan, Draco having mentioned the boy in passing as being one of Weasley’s friends. “Finnegan. Perhaps you can inform the rest of the class what the difference between monkshood and Wolfsbane is?” Yet again he was met with only silence.

“Thought you would get by in my class without opening a book, hmm? 8 points from Gryffindor for not bothering to study the material before class.” Directing his gaze to her, he repeated the first question.

Clearing her throat, Harriet answered with “Draught of Living death, sir. The most powerful sleeping draught in the world. Which can be found on the first page of our books-” He held up his hand stopping her from going on a Hermione level tangent.

“Correct, Miss Potter.” Noticing the rest of his house was already writing this down, he directed the second question to Draco who replied “In the stomach of a goat, sir. Chapter two of the books talks in depth about the different cures for poisons after all.” Her narrowed eyes at his cheek were promptly ignored as his smug smile came out as their Professor posed the final question to Hermione, who looked relieved that he even called on her at all.

“There is no difference between the two Professor, as they’re the same plant. Also referred to as Aconite. Chapter 4 contains information about the different names an ingredient can have as well as the importance of remembering them lest the results spell disaster.” Was he... _smirking_?! Harriet was half waiting for the world to start ending at the sight of perhaps the most genuinely pleased look on the man’s face she’d ever seen.

‘ _He’s been drugged! Or did he drug all of us somehow? Professor Prince doesn’t SMIRK! Not without looking like he was plotting how to hide a body at the same time_ ’ She had to slam the door shut on her rising mental panic in order to hear the 10 points he awarded Slytherin for knowing the content and demonstrating evidence of having actually read the textbook.

"2 points from Gryffindor for not bothering to to take notes on the topic at hand."

The Professor flicked his wand at the chalkboard as flowing handwriting began listing out their instructions for a basic cure for boils they would be brewing today.

“You all have the remaining hour and a half to brew an acceptable cure for boils by following the instructions on the board. Starting _now_.”

Everything was going well for the most part, Draco preparing the ingredients as she followed the actual steps for the potion itself. If they happened to include a few tips for improving the overall quality of their potion thanks to the extra books their teacher had provided them over the break then no one could fault them for it now could they? So it was a rather abrupt shock to her when an explosion went off a few rows behind them from the Gryffindors’ side of the classroom, causing everyone to duck in shock.

Weasley and Finnegan were looking in shock at the ruined remains of their now melted cauldron as painful looking boils formed along their hands and covered both their faces.

“You imbecile dunderheads! _How_ , pray tell, did you manage to detonate what should be a completely inert potion?” Spotting the open jar of porcupine quills next to Finnegan. “Of course, you must have added the quills before taking the cauldron off the fire per my instructions.” Said note was clearly listed on the board in front of them as step 8 of 10. “10 points from Gryffindor. I will not tolerate neglectful disregard for instructions, Weasley, Finnegan." The redhead had a look of barely concealed fury. "Potions is a delicate and precise practice, and thus absolute caution must be exercised at all times to avoid accidents.” Gesturing to the ruined cauldron in front of them, he continued in a cold tone. “Today you were fortunate enough that it was only boils you suffered from due to a disregard for not paying attention to the instructions. And what of a month from now when we attempt to brew a cure for common poisons, hmm?” Vanishing the mess with a wave of his wand, “Consider this the only warning any of you will receive in my class. I will not tolerate any such mishaps again. Mister Malfoy, Miss Granger! If you would be so kind as to bring these two to Madam Pomfrey at once.”

He turned back to the rest of the class as the four exited the class room with their belongings. ”The rest of you, collect a vial of your potions and leave them on my desk to receive a grade. You’re dismissed, not you, Miss Potter. Stay behind a moment.” He held her back seeing as she and Draco had finished and turned in their sample just before the Gryffindors' cauldron had exploded, and thus was about to exit the room.

After the last samples were delivered to his desk and the last student gone from the room, her head of house closed the door with a flick of his wand in it’s direction before making another gesture that caused the entire wall and door to glow a faint green before fading.

“There, now we won’t be overheard by wandering ears, Miss Potter. There is a matter of some importance that I must discuss with you that has recently been brought to my attention regarding the subject of those rings upon your hand.” Looking down briefly at her heir ring, only the Black Family crest being visible once she read about being able to will them into being invisible when she wanted, hence the Potter ring not being visible at the moment, she quickly looked back to the Professor raising an eyebrow in question.

“Is something the matter sir? None of the other teachers brought up anything about wearing them being against Hogwarts rules.” He simply shook his head at her question.

“It is not against the rules to wear them, no. There is however the matter concerning the fact that you are currently wearing two rings at the moment due to being the accepted heir to both family lines that day in Gringotts. The matter in question pertains to the fact that you have acknowledged a sense of deeper familiar connection regarding the House of Black rather than the House of Potter.” At her confused look he pressed on. “In the case of your, rather unique, situation most would not question the use of your birth surname had you felt that familiar connection to your birth parents’ house. However as that is not the case, most who recognize that crest on your finger will begin to question it. They would begin to wonder why you would seemingly take the heirship but not the name itself.”

“So...you’re saying that people are going to start wondering why I’m talked about in connection to the House of Potter despite the fact that I’m Sirius’ daughter and have established a deeper connection to the House of Black?” Severus couldn’t help the look of surprise at the girl connecting the dots so quickly.

“That is correct Miss Potter.”

“So people wouldn’t find it odd if my name suddenly changed from Potter to Black? But I figured Dumbledore would be better off not knowing I’m aware of Sirius blood adopting me 10 years ago? Wouldn’t this make him suspicious about just how much I know?”

“If you had questioned me about those concerns even a day ago I would have agreed with you about attempting to avoid drawing the Headmaster’s gaze. However several students belonging to noble houses themselves within Slytherin have already begun to share confused looks among themselves about the matter when they take note of your ring. It has also been brought to my attention that the Headmaster is going to attempt at some point to convince you to part with the rings. It would perhaps be preferable to control the situation now by actively making the decision to adapt rather than have others confront you about it publicly.”

Harriet actually felt somewhat relieved by the idea. “Of course professor, I was actually planning to ask Sirius about it once his trial ended and he was released like Lucius seems to think he’ll be. I would honestly prefer being known as heir Black rather than Potter.” At the man’s raised eyebrow she rushed to explain her reasoning.

“It’s just, I love my birth parents. Really, I do. But, I’ve never really felt nearly as close to them as other kids seem to be with their parents. I grew up hearing my Aunt and Uncle say horrible things about them for years, and yet…” Taking a moment to sort her thoughts a bit clearer that had been sitting in her mind for weeks now. “I’ve never really been able to see them as being more than an idea, I guess? I don’t remember anything about them personally, I was only a baby when they died. So I don’t really have any of those ties people expect me to have linking me to the Potter name.”

Severus could see how the girl would come to that path of thinking, and in a way it made a surprising amount of sense to him.

“But Aunt Cissa? She’s gone so far out of her way in the last few weeks to help me integrate into the wizarding world overall, and she’s been beyond nice to me even when she didn’t have a single reason to be.” Severus couldn’t help the slight chuckle at that.

“Narcissa’s maternal instincts are certainly extensive when it comes to family, this is true.” Harriet nodded quickly at that. “Exactly! She’s welcomed me into her family without asking anything in return of me, and I appreciate it soo much. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to repay her for all she’s done.”

“Nor would she allow you to try. Narcissa takes her family extremely seriously, and to her you are part of that family, as much a part of the house of Black as she is. She actually informed me of being disappointed when she learned Sirius adopted you before she could.” the girl chuckled at that.

“Draco mentioned she roped Dobby into trying to find ways to adopt me, though he seems more inclined to try bribing me with desserts if Lucius’ letter was right. But that’s actually my point, sir. She made me feel more like I was a part of the House of Black than I ever felt with the house of Potter. So that’s why I’m actually proud to wear this ring, why the idea of taking on their name doesn’t worry me in the slightest.”

“I see. For what it means, I believe your birth parents would both be proud of you for finding a sense of belonging in the house of Black as well as understanding of your choice.” She could feel her eyes starting to sting slightly at that.

“That actually means a lot, Professor. More than you know.”

“Good, now I believe you have a Charms lesson to get to soon. Good day, Miss Black.”

After she left the room, she wiped the single tear that had run down her face away, feeling relieved that there was at least one adult at Hogwarts who she could trust to be on her side.

* * *

Reaching the Charms classroom, she was glad to see both her friends were already there. She assured Hermione that she was fine when the girl noticed her red eyes and mentioned that it was actually because of a good thing that she would explain to both of them later once they were back in the common room.

“Fair warning, Weasley’s already out of the Hospital Wing since Madam Pomfrey managed to quickly cure both his and Finnegan’s boils. And he didn’t look very happy from what I saw.” Draco mentioned, looking already close to wanting to hex the redhead.

“Thanks Draco, what would I do without you?” She and Hermione giggled at the smug look on the boy’s face.

“Besides being left to deal with Weasley’s big mouth without me you mean?” All three broke into laughter at that.

“Potter!” She groaned at the aforementioned loud boy as they noticed him approaching, face suspiciously covered in the remnants of some kind of medical cream.

“Who do you think you are?! Acting all high and mighty in potions today just because you answered a single question right.” He jabbed a finger into her chest, before Draco shoved him back looking furious. He was prevented from verbally tearing into the redhead however when two voices spoke up from behind the freckled ginger.

“Awww! Did widdle Ronniekins-”

“Not answer a question from the broody-”

“Potions teacher?”

She smiled at the look of horror on the boy's face once he heard the voices of what looked to be his older brother's from behind him.

“Weren’t you talking just the other day about-”

“How big a waste of time-”

“Potions was?”

“Quite right Gred!

“Thank you Forge.”

The look of increasing horror on the youngest Weasley’s face had the three of them breaking into hysterical laughter.

“Harriet, Hermione, meet Fred and George. The twin terrors of Gryffindor tower and the kings of pranking at Hogwarts three years running.” Draco introduced the two, clearly Weasley, students in front of them. Looking closer at the twins, she noticed the subtle difference in their eyes that most probably missed. George's right eye was a slight shade deeper of Hazel compared to his left, while Fred had the same difference between his eyes in his left one instead. 

“Kings of pranking?”

“Quite the bit of praise from a Malfoy-”

“To consider anyone else royalty.”

“We are humbled by your kind words young Dragon.”

“Quite right George.”

“Thank you Fred.”

Harriet grinned at the two jokesters, already getting the sense that they would be the cause of some legendary pranks in the coming years. The two directed their attention towards the three first years.

“Tell us, is our dear little brother here getting himself in a spot of trouble with the ‘big scary snaklings’?” George asked the three Slytherins.

“Because if he is we’d be happy to set him straight for you if you’d like?” Fred offered.

“For a small favor in the future of course.” George how a decidedly less then innocent look in his eyes at the mention of a favor. ‘Judging these two, we’d probably end up having to test out some of their pranks.’ She thought.

“Gettoff! I haven’t done anything to any of them! And what do you care about anyways? They're just a bunch of slimy snakes.” Wesley turned to his brothers, sneering the last part in the direction of the three first years.

“You wound us dear brother!”

“Quite right George! We may not be from the same house, but we aren’t actively provoking a bunch of first years like you are dear brother.”

“Wait, I thought all Gryffindors hated Slytherins as a principle? You two are the only ones we’ve seen that don’t seem to despise or hate us just because of the fact we wear green and silver.” Hermione spoke up for the first time, questioning the twins, knowing full well the rivalry the two houses had going on between them for decades.

“Not at all young Bookworm. In fact we’ve known several Slytherin’s over the years that are some of the greatest examples of wizards and witches had the good fortune of knowing.”

“Quite right Fred. It may be a surprise to hear this, but not everyone at Hogwarts actually hates Slytherin. Those that do aren’t actually worth listening to.”

“Couldn’t have put it better myself George. Truth be told, George and I both thought about asking the hat to put us in the house of Snakes when we were sorted.” Now that peaked Harriet’s interest.

“Seriously? What made you change your minds?” Before the twins could respond however the hallway filled with the loud noise that indicated the arrival of the rest of the Gryffindor first years.

“Perhaps you’ll find out later, little Raven. For now though, don’t hesitate to put our dear brother here in his place. He could use the humility I think” Both twins nodded at that before heading off to no doubt plan their next prank.

"Wait, did they just call me little?!" Draco barked out a laugh at the irritated look on her face.

"Honestly Harriet, you are rather short after all."

They were let into the classroom a moment later, Draco dragging her along by her arm while she pouted at the dig at her height, where they had their first practical lesson in charms when they learned how to cast the lumos spell. Harriet was a bit surprised when she managed to get it her first try, earning her house 5 points from the easily excitable professor, who asked her to try adjusting the brightness of the spell. Needless to say when she nearly blinded half the room with her spell after trying to get it to glow brighter, the Professor was impressed at her ability to apparently overpower such a spell that far.

“Miss Potter! How in the world did you produce such a powerful lumos?!”

Feeling slightly embarrassed at all the attention in the room being directed to her “W-Well, I remembered reading about the spell in our t-textbooks over the summer, professor, and when I read further along about h-how adjusting the hand movement slightly when casting it can result in a much brighter result, I figured I’d give it a try.” She could feel the flush breaking out across her face.

“W-Well then! That’s a third year alteration of the spell Miss Potter! We don’t cover the topic of variations to spells until the beginning of Third year! Bravo Miss Potter, 10 points to Slytherin for the wonderful application and proper explanation of the theory of a third year spell!” She felt the blush deepen even further when the rest of the Slytherins broke into applause.

At the end of Class Professor Flitwick asked her to stay behind. Wondering if she did something wrong after all by casting the different spell, she walked towards the Professor’s podium at the front of the room.

“You wanted to speak to me, Professor? Did I-did I do something wrong? Casting that spell I mean.” The shorter Professor shook his head fast enough that she worried for a second he’d fall off his books again.

“Wrong?! Not at all Miss Potter! Nothing of the sort at all! I asked you to stay behind for a moment to ask how you were able to pull off such a spell in fact. There’s a reason it’s not typically taught before third year, Miss Potter.” She nodded her head at the confirmation that she wasn’t in trouble like she’d thought she would be.

“Typically a witch or wizard’s magical core hasn’t developed to the point of being large enough to handle complex spells until around their third year. Hence why the more powerful version of the spell, lumos maxima, is used as a form of indicator in students to determine whether their magical core has expanded enough to be able to handle the more complex spells that are taught from that year on in their education.”

“Oh! That makes sense now that you mention it. Some of the spells I read about in that chapter of the book I found it in did seem rather complicated compared to what was in the book we were assigned to read.” She felt a bit foolish for not making the connection sooner.

"If you'd like I can recommend a number of tomes in the library relating to the topic of magical cores. It might prove an enlightening subject Miss Potter." She nodded her head in agreement at that, feeling more than a bit curious about the subject she'd only just heard about for the first time.

“Now that I think about it, your mother was rather naturally gifted with charms as well when she attended school. She was, in fact, one of the few student’s I’ve ever known to be able to produce a corporeal Patronus during her time at school.” Harriet was surprised at the mention of her mother, and couldn’t help but wonder if she was the reason Harriet herself seemed to do so well in Charms.

“Professor, you knew my mother?" A sad look passed over the man's face before he seemed to light up at the topic. "I did indeed! Lily was one of my star pupils in class when she attended Hogwarts in fact. She excelled at charms, and it appears you've inherited her skill for the subject as well Miss Potter. A very bright witch, your mother, brightest of her year I seem to recall in fact. She was top of nearly all her classes if memory serves me right." She was hurrying to catalog this information away in her mind as her Professor continued praising her mother. "It's tragic really, what happened to her that night. Such a kind spirit, Lily had. The world really is a lesser place without her or your father in it." Well that was a slightly depressing reminder. "What was the spell you mentioned? The Patronus, my mother was able to cast?” She asked, trying to change the mood of the conversation towards brighter things.

“Ah yes. ‘The Patronus Charm’. A rather complex and advanced piece of magic, that is. I myself have only known a few wizards and witches able to produce the corporeal version itself. A Patronus, reflects upon the wizard or witch who casts it, you see. And takes the form of the animal or creature that embodies them the most. If I remember correctly, both of your parent’s could cast the charm successfully and in fact their Patronuses were what you could consider soulmates. Your father’s was a stag,” At this she couldn’t help but run her right thumb over the ring bearing the crest in the form of a stag that was currently invisible, wondering what the odds of that really were. “While Lily’s took the form of a doe.”

Harriet was in awe that her parents were apparently soulmates. It left her wondering what her own Patronus could be, assuming she could even eventually cast the spell in the first place.

“Professor, do you have any books on the spell?” He nodded in the affirmative at her question.

“It would not be practical however, to try studying the spell itself. Not as young as you are at least. A Patronus is an extremely complex piece of magic Miss Potter, and you would end up overtaxing your core if you attempted to cast it now.” She felt disappointed at that, when her teacher spoke up again.

“However, perhaps you can attempt it in a year or two, once your core has had enough time to properly stabilize itself better. Until then, there was another matter that your head of house had mentioned at breakfast that you may wish to speak with each of your teachers about at some point?”

“Oh. Er, right. It’s just that…” She couldn’t seem to get the words out.

“If I may, does it have anything to do with the ring on your right hand?” At the look of surprise on her face, the half goblin let out a small chuckle. “I would imagine by the fact you're wearing it and not the Potter heir ring that the concern involves your associated name?" At her surprised nod he continued. "Not to worry, I’ve had a few students over the years in similar situations as yourself, Miss Black. If you would like, I can pass the message along subtly to the other Professor’s for you? Save you the hassle of meeting up with each of them over the weekend.”

“I would appreciate that greatly, Professor. Thank you so much.” He nodded his head at the look of relief that washed over the girl.

“Of course, Miss Black. The other’s will be alerted to your preferred name by Monday.” She left after thanking the man again, heading back to the common room.

* * *

It was later that afternoon that she told Draco and Hermione about why their head of house held her back after class earlier. Both of them took the change in stride, with Draco looking rather smug.

“I’m best friends with the heir of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black! You’re damn right I’m feeling a bit smug right about now.” She barked out a laugh at her friend’s good mood.

“Honestly Harriet, I’m just glad you’re happy about it. You should be able to embrace that connection to family that you’ve found.” She hugged her first female friend. “Thanks ‘mione. That means a lot, from both of you.”

“So does that mean we can do a dramatic reveal to everyone in the common room now?” The pillow to the face was the only answer her blonde friend needed.

“You most certainly will not, you overdramatic git!” She couldn’t stop the laughter from bubbling out at her friend’s mock cry of pain.

“Hermione help! I’m being assaulted over here by your lunatic friend!” Harriet gasped in mock outrage at that.

“Oh so I’m her friend when you’re being attacked but yours when you want to use my family name?!” Draco leapt off the couch they were sitting on at that and ran through the entrance to the rest of the dungeons, an irate heiress to the House of Black chasing after him as their bushy haired friend was left giggling on the couch at their antics.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now some reader's may question my decision to have Harriet embrace the Black family connection Sirius formed between them through the blood adoption, rather then her connection with her birth parents family. The truth is that family is going to play a very big role in shaping Harriet's character as she grows, and hopefully the explanation I gave through her reasoning to Severus was enough to make sense to anyone reading this story. She's not going to just ignore that part of who she is as a person, but she's also not going to let it define her life as much as canon Harry seemed to.
> 
> I'm working out several different details right now regarding each character's personal growth right now and Harriet's is so far the one I've delved into the most because she'd kinda the main character so to speak. Draco, Hermione, and even Severus are going to each be getting their own personal character progression as this series progresses into future years. Hermione's first big personal ark isn't going to really start showing up until around the end of year three and more into year 4 and it actually ties into a different part of Harriet's own character that will be brought up briefly in the end of the chamber of secrets and expanded more upon in the first half of year 3. 
> 
> Draco's going to have his first major character ark around the end of year 4 I believe but I haven't really started thinking about things that far ahead yet. 
> 
> Severus will have his character ark scattered about in the background of the first half of the series until around year 4, just because he's stubborn and refuses to be written as an even remotely simple human being with emotions. lol. 
> 
> I know it may have seemed Snape was a bit harsh earlier in this chapter for taking 30 points from Gryffindor in one class, but I wanted to make a few points about my version of his character. This version of Snape is much more open about his protectiveness for the students in his house and will be much more willing to come to their defense even against rude students unlike in canon. He's also much more strict about safety in class because of a past event that will eventually get revealed later on, he's just making certain that no one ends up injured on his watch. He's also a sadistic git that takes far too much joy in making Gryffindors look foolish after how they've treated his house over the years. He's officially run out of fucks to give when it comes to putting up with them lol. Hopefully that makes a bit more sense as to why Snape seems so different from canon.
> 
> Let me know what your thoughts about this chapter are, I'm always eager to here other's opinion of the stuff I write lol. (Bonus points if you can figure out the small hint I left in this chapter about one of Harriet's future character development arks lol)


	7. Trolls, Hospital wings, and enraged snakes.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fair warning towards the end of this chapter for mentions of blood and a fairly severe injury occurring.

The weeks seemed to go past in the blink of an eye to Harriet. Lucius had sent several more letters with details about Sirius’ trial as they unfolded and Narcissa had proven too be true to from from Lucius’ first letter and had taken to sending her different desserts and even boxes of assorted candies. 

Potions and Charms had quickly established themselves as her two top classes where her skill in charms seemed to only grow with each spell she mastered with ease. Transfiguration however proved to be where she struggled most despite her partial success their first lesson a month and a half ago. Professor McGonagall, when she asked her privately why she seemed to have so much trouble getting the hang of the subject, explained that most students tend to have a predisposition for one or two fields of magic and commented about how her's seemed to stem from her mother’s own talent for charms like Professor Flitwick had theorized that day in Charms.

“Transfiguration, Miss Black, is essentially the polar opposite to Charms in terms of physical application. Whereas a strong knowledge of the actual theory will benefit someone proficient in Charms greatly, transfiguration requires a much more abstract grasp of the concept. Transfiguration requires clear mental visualization to successfully achieve results, rather than an understanding of the theory of the two items you are interchanging.” Which did make a bit more sense to her once she stopped to think about it.

* * *

Weasley continued to be a menace in classes they had with Gryffindor, with him preferring to insult Hermione about her interests in academic studies, and Harriet herself once it became public news that she had embraced the Black name for herself.

* * *

Two weeks before Halloween, or Samhain as Draco insisted it was actually called before muggleborn wizards introduced the idea of their version of the Holiday and Dumbledore had made it a tradition to celebrate with a feast in place of of the former rituals and practices the kids that were part of noble houses used to celebrate at school. Harriet was more than a bit insulted at the idea that families' traditions were being banned legally in recent years. 

Anyhow, two weeks before the big feast that was scheduled, Draco managed to temporarily put Weasley in his place by challenging him to a duel at midnight in the trophy room, where he was given detention with Filch after getting caught out after dark while Draco was accounted for in the Slytherin common room at Harriet’s subtle suggestion that he not show up so that only Weasley would get in trouble.

The older students lingering in the common room at the time called it the most Slytherin thing they’d ever seen her do, then promptly broke out in laughter at the beet red flush that covered her face at the comment.

The first flying lessons of the year passed by without incident, and while Harriet felt that flying was the greatest thing she’d ever experienced before, she found that she didn’t in fact care as much about Quidditch itself. Much to the horror of Draco who mock fainted at her mention of the sport not appealing to her as much as the act of flying itself.

* * *

It was two weeks later that Harriet awoke to a sense of bitter sorrow in the pit of her stomach at the fact that 10 years ago today a madman had broken into her family’s home and murdered her birth parents.

~ _ **Little Sspeaker?**_ ~ Naga hissed from the foot of her bed where he was curled around her legs while she was contemplating just skipping classes and staying in bed. Professor Prince had given her permission the day before to do so if she decided she didn’t feel up to ‘socializing’ as he put it when extending the offer to her.

~ ** _They died today. 10 years ago today, they were killed. By an insane madman that everyone’s still terrified to talk about even now._** ~ She hissed back quietly, stroking her familiar’s pointed head as he rested against her side. They didn’t talk anymore after that, basking in the quiet for the next few minutes before she got out of bed finally and got ready for breakfast and classes for the day. 

‘ _Screw it, there’s no reason to sit around here today when I have my friends to support me if I need it_.’ 

**Draco’s P.O.V.:**

He knew as soon as he saw his best friend that today was going to be hard for her. Glancing at Hermione beside him, they wordlessly agreed to keep a closer eye on her that morning.

It wasn’t until they were gathered outside the Potions classroom that things went downhill. 

“Hey! _Potter_!” Draco glared at the redhead in front of them who blatantly refused to acknowledge Harriet’s change in surname. Draco noticed the slight flinch his friend tried to cover up at the rude tone he used as he spat her parents’ name out.

“What do you want this time Weasley?” Draco sneered at the boy.

“I’m just curious is all. About how your mum and dad would feel about you disrespecting them like you are.” The boy bit out, ignoring him.

Draco felt more than visibly saw her freeze up at that. Weasley went too far this time. 

“E-Excuse me?”

“Did I mumble? Your mum and dad give their lives for you when you were a baby, and this is how you repay them for it? By throwing away their name like it’s nothing and taking the name of the madman who betrayed them in the first place?” She’d started shaking slightly at this point.

“Shut your mouth Wea-” The boy spoke over him though, ignoring his words.

“If I were them, I’d be feeling pretty ashamed of my kid acting like that on top of being a slimy snake...” She turned on her heel and took off down the dungeons in the direction of the grand staircase. Draco managed to catch a fleeting glimpse of the tears he already knew would be flowing down her face.

“Weasley! 20 points from Gryffindor for causing emotional distress to a student and harassment.” Came the icy voice of their head of house, Draco gathering that he had at least caught the end of the altercation. The look on the man’s face could freeze hell.

* * *

It wasn’t until they were waiting outside Charms that Draco realized Harriet hadn’t returned to class or showed up at the library like they planned to do so after Potions.

“Just give her some space, Draco.” Neville of all people spoke up when he voiced his concerns. 

“Nev’s right. Harriet probably wouldn’t handle being around people very well right now anyways. You know how much she cares about her family. Weasley took a cheap shot and it hit her harder today of all days when he did.” Hermione reminded him.

* * *

It was after they were leaving Charms that things escalated progressively more.

Draco was talking with Blaise about the lesson about the levitation charm they’d just practiced for the first time when Weasley came up behind them complaining to Thomas about Hermione's answering a question in class about the charm’s pronunciation.

“She’s an insufferable know it all! All she ever does is spout textbook definitions of stuff back at the teachers. It’s no wonder her only friend’s are dirty snakes.” Draco noticed at the last second that said girl was right behind the irritating redhead when she pushed past him with her head down and sped down the hall.

“What is _**wrong**_ with you?!” Draco snapped, whirling around on the boy.

“Wha-”

“First you mock Harriet’s family to her face on the anniversary of their **murders**! Now you just had to open your mouth again not two hours later and insult Granger for being smart?!” Students had stopped to watch the two.

“Like you actually _care_ Malfoy! You’re just leeching off the attention of being friends with the 'Girl-Who-Lived'. And everyone knows you only talk to Granger because she’s friends with Potter-” Draco grabbed the boy by the front of his robes.

“Her name,” He growled. “Isn’t Potter! It’s _**Black**_. Get that fact through your _thick_ skull.” He shoved the boy away from him before he did something he’d end up regretting like punching the boy in the face. “And for your information they **_are_ ** my friends. I may not be a saint Weasley, but I don’t _lie_ to people's faces like that or use them for their fame.”

He turned on his heel and stormed off down the hall alongside Blaise and Neville who had joined the two when he spotted Draco arguing with Weasley.

* * *

It was at the feast that night that Draco started really getting worried at the sight of Harriet’s and now Hermione’s empty spots at the table.

“Pansy, have you seen Harriet at all since Potions? Or Granger since Charms?” Draco questioned his friend who mentioned hearing about Harriet spending the entire day crying in the girl’s bathroom on the third floor and how some student had spotted Hermione entering at some point.

“ **TROLL**!!” The doors to the great hall slammed open as Professor Quirrell ran into the hall, panicked. “Troll in the dungeons! Thought you ought to know..” He then straight up fainted flat on the floor.

The hall was quiet for a few moments as the news was absorbed before panic broke out.

“Quiet!” The voice of the headmaster thundered over the noise of the hall. “Prefects, escort your houses to the common rooms at once-” 

“Beg _pardon_ , Headmaster? Certainly you’re not suggesting half of the school wander through the _dungeons_ that are currently house to a _troll_?” The voice of Slytherins' head of house interrupted. “After all, two common rooms currently reside in said dungeons after all.” At that reminder it was decided that the students would remain in the great hall instead.

Just as the professors were getting ready to go in search of the troll themselves Draco called out to his head of house. “PROFESSOR!” The man whipped around to face him quickly. 

“It’s Harriet and Hermione! They didn’t show up to dinner and don’t know about the troll!” 

The rest of the teachers followed the headmaster to the dungeons to continue searching for the troll while Hagrid was left in charge of guarding the Great Hall and Professor Prince went off with Draco and Neville seeing as they were both girl’s closest friends and wouldn’t have stayed put if he refused anyhow.

* * *

Approaching the hallway with the bathroom Draco explained they were seen in earlier, two screams were heard coming from within.

“Harriet!” Draco exclaimed at the same time Neville said, “Hermione!” The two students rushed ahead of the Professor who picked up his own pace as well before they came upon the sight of Weasley standing outside the clearly locked bathroom door.

“You locked the troll inside with them?! Are you insane?!” The man pushed them out of the way while flicking his wand at the door where it slammed open.

Draco noticed immediately Harriet and Hermione pressed into the far corner of the room, Harriet clutching hold of her right leg that he could see bleeding from here and looking like she was close to passing out, while Hermione was trying to keep any falling debris from hitting them with a lesser shield charm their Defense teacher had managed to show them two weeks before that he could see was already riddled with small cracks from before they'd arrived, the book-smart girl looking close to collapsing from magical exhaustion herself.

“ _Protego_!” A large shield snapped into existence around the two, catching the troll’s club as it swung towards them with enough force to be easily able to shatter Hermione’s own shielding had it connected, before splintering the moment it hit the severely overpowered spell from their head of house.

Draco thought quickly about what spells could possibly work on a troll with _magically_ _resistant_ skin. ‘ _That’s it!_ ’

Pulling out his own wand and moving it in the motion they had just learned the other week in herbology, he spoke the first spell that came to mind. “ _ **Incendio**_!”

The troll dropped the mangled remains of it’s club as it tried to grasp it’s suddenly burning eyes only to stumble backwards as Neville called out a ‘ _flipendo_ ’ causing the troll to trip over it’s own feet entirely and knock it’s head against the wall, falling unconscious.

“What in the world happened here?!” The stern voice of Professor McGonagall rang out as Professor Prince headed towards the two injured members of his house with Madam Pomfrey rushing over as well to evaluate their injuries and trying to keep Harriet from passing out from the gaping bleeding gash in her leg caused by a shard of what looked like one of the **_sinks_** lying embedded in her calf as Hermione slumped against the wall once she was able to finally lower her spell.

“Severus my dear boy, what indeed happened here tonight?” The concerned voice of the Headmaster spoke up. 

“ _Weasley,_ had foolishly locked the troll in the bathroom, endangering the lives of two students!” McGonagall just gaped at the accusation against her student.

“And what pray tell were Miss Granger and Miss Black even _doing_ here in the first place?! Putting yourselves in danger like that! 15 points from Slytherin each!”

“I can explain exactly the reason for Miss Black’s being here, Minerva. Weasley here had insulted the girl in a way that resulted in Miss Black’s emotional distress earlier in front of my classroom and presumably fled to the bathroom to handle the resulting emotional backlash Weasley’s actions had caused privately.” The man looked irritated at the points taken from his house, before looking pointedly at Weasley who was standing off to the side.

Weasley had the nerve to at least look ashamed that his actions had caused this mess in the first place.

“As for Miss Granger, I was made aware that a similar event as what happened with Miss Black, occurred outside of the Charms classroom 2 hours later, this time resulting in Miss Granger’s emotional distress.” If looks could kill Weasley would be stuck down by the one on his head of house’ face.

“Well I never! 50 points from Gryffindor Mr. Weasley as well as a month’s detention with Professor Prince here. As for you two-” Turning to Neville and him, they were saved from losing any more points by the Potion's master.

“Malfoy and Longbottom both are the reason Black and Granger are still alive, Minerva. And were here on my authority. Thus they will be rewarded for saving two student’s lives tonight with 50 points _each, per life._ ” Draco couldn't help but feel a bit relieved that he and Neville weren't in any trouble themselves. Professor McGonagall looked like she wanted to argue but let the matter drop at recommendation from Madam Pomfrey that they stop arguing so the two injured students in front of her could be escorted to the hospital wing to be treated.

* * *

Half an hour later he and Neville were allowed to spend the night in the hospital wing for ‘physical exhaustion’ as Madam Pomfrey explained to the other Professor’s before they left the room and she could properly tend to Harriet’s leg and Hermione’s arm which was revealed to have been cut by a shard of porcelain from one of the sinks shattering in the chaos. ' _Thank goodness for stern mediwitches.._ '

Harriet’s leg turned out to be worse off than he'd thought it looked at first glance, having been broken from a large chunk of the ceiling hitting it when the troll smashed it’s club into it and would need her to spend an entire week in the hospital wing while it healed since the break wasn't severe enough to require skele-grow, but still serious enough to require several days worth of rest and multiple daily bone mending potions to be taken by the girl. It turned out the shard that was embedded had managed to nick a relatively minor artery in her leg that had resulted in the blood loss that fortunately wasn’t nearly as severe as it would have been had it cut any deeper.

Fortunately the mediwitch had been able to heal the gash from the piece of porcelain itself quickly, though the bone would still take time to heal properly.Even with the extra potions. Hermione felt bad at being allowed to leave after only another day once her arm had finished healing.

He noticed Harriet turning towards him with a tired look on her face from the sleeping draught Madam Pomfrey had ordered her to drink a few minutes earlier.

“Thanks Draco, Neville. You really saved us back there.”

“Don’t even say it Black. After the stunt Weasley pulled today, he may just find himself in one of those beds tomorrow if I get my hands on _him_.” He promised them, causing the group to burst into laughter.

“Please don’t get detention for picking fights with students Draco. Promise you won’t hurt him?” He rolled his eyes at his best friend.

“Fine. But only because you’re injured this time. Plus I don’t feel like bruising my hand by punching Weasley in his stupid mouth.” She laughed at that.

“How did a troll even get inside in the first place?” Hermione spoke up after the laughter calmed.

“No one seems to know.” Neville revealed.

Draco suddenly had the perfect way to figure it out.

“Just wait until my father hears about this!”

All of them broke into giggles and laughter at the idle threat having actual weight behind it for once.

* * *

**Harriet's P.O.V.:**

It was her third day of her week long stay at the hospital wing that her two friends and her head of house came barreling into the wing, well Professor Prince didn’t so much as barrel as much as glide, but that was beside the point.

“Naga’s gone _**ballistic**_!” Hermione exclaimed, looking panicked at the thought of whatever her pet had gotten into now. 

“Wha-?”

“That _blasted_ snake of yours, Miss Black, has taken to demolishing your dorm room in a fit and refuses to calm down!” Their head of house looked rather displeased at the idea of her misbehaving serpent causing such chaos.

“We’re pretty sure he’s panicked over you being in here for so long and not getting the chance to see you has made him rather...irritable.” Draco explained about how they couldn’t even get into the room itself without the irate viper hissing threateningly at them and lashing out at the door, driving them off before they could enter. Pansy had been left slightly traumatized at the sounds coming from the reptile.

“Dammit, he does have a habit of being overprotective of me now that you mention it…” The icy glare sent her way from the Professor had her looking away. “I take it he can’t exactly be allowed to come in here himself and assure himself I’m fine?”

The glare on their Professor’s face had morphed into a look of almost smug contentment at the idea.

“Perhaps he _can_ indeed, Miss Black. In fact I imagine the Headmaster himself would approve of him attending classes at your side due to the fact that it would guaranteed your safety from any potential hazards…” The longer he thought about the more he seemed assured of his decision. If the headmaster still wasn't aware of the nature of the snake in question it was hardly Severus' place to inform the wise headmaster of the fact.

“I will speak to the Headmaster myself at once regarding the matter. For now Granger can let him free of your room and direct him to you herself.” Hermione looked terrified at the idea but nodded slightly in fear nonetheless.

“Just tell him you’ll bring him to me ‘mione. He does understand English even if he doesn’t speak it.” 20 minutes later the girl returned to the Hospital wing with a hissing, enraged Naga trailing behind her.

~ _ **Foolissh humanss! Keeping me from my Little Sspeaker when sshe was injured under their guidance! I sshould bite them all for ssuch negligence!!**_ ~

Harriet was surprised at the threats coming from her protective friend, staring at him owlishly as she processed just what she was hearing.

“Dare I ask what you just heard to cause such a reaction?” Professor Prince intoned.

“Um...he’s kinda ticked off at the entire teaching population of Hogwarts?” She offered trailing off towards the end, shrugging slightly at the man’s raised brow. 

“He’s basically talking about ‘the foolish humans’ being the reason I was hurt in the first place and is currently contemplating who he should bite first.” 

~ ** _...or perhapss the old one with the sstupid beard and hideouss robess…_** ~

“And he just got to Professor Dumbledore. Huh, he seems to agree with you Professor about the man’s questionable fashion sense and beard length.” At that Severus snorted despite the partial blame the angry serpent was directing at him as well.

~ _ **Naga...No, Naga! You can’t just attack everyone over the age of 20 in the building! I don’t**_ **care** _ **if they’re all on your hit list minus Madam Pomfrey for being the one to heal me in the first place!**_ ~ She was going to question her head of house about the source of her pet learning that muggle term. 

‘ _Cheeky git probably thinks it’s amusing to try teaching the giant brat new vocabulary...’_

It took another 10 minutes of arguing with the aggravated snake before she was able to slate his temper at the mention of being able to come to class with her starting Thursday morning.

~ _ **I get to leave that boring room? Finally! Little Sspeaker has provided proper entertainment for me…**_ ~ He looked downright pleased by this news.

‘ _I’m already starting to regret this… though it’s kinda cute how much he’s like an overexcited puppy at the idea. Plus he'll scare the living piss out of Weasley. Maybe it will help mellow him out to get the chance to roam freely more often.._ ’ She hoped it would anyway...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So am I the only one not convinced there's any chance in hell at Naga mellowing out either? lol. 
> 
> Naga: *Hisses at Weasley*
> 
> Weasley: *Passes out in shock as a new snake phobia is developed*
> 
> Harriet: Why am not surprised? Also I find myself not feeling bad in the slightest for some 'odd' reason. 
> 
> Feel free to leave a comment if you enjoyed this chapter. They all inspire me to type even faster lol.
> 
> Next Chapter will feature the Day after Harriet get's out of the hospital wing, Naga's first day in class and the reactions from the student body, and then Harriet's first meeting with Dumbledore. Hopefully I can get it all typed up in the next day or two.


	8. Protective Snakes, more truth's, scheming dungeon bats, and burning immortals.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harriet learns learns a crucial truth about the dark lord and their connection, witnesses an amazing dinner show, and meet's her childhood idol in the form an over-dramatic immortal alchemist. Snape continues looking out for his snakes, accidentally gains an apprentice, and intentionally causes Harriet an internal panic attack. Naga discovers the joy that is bacon, and unintentionally helps secure the entire house of Slytherin as his little speaker's guard detail.

Harriet was nearly bored out of her mind by the time Madam Pomfrey had finally let her and Naga out of the Hospital Wing Thursday morning. Professor Prince stopped by the day before with the confirmation from the Headmaster that Harriet would be allowed to keep Naga with her as she went about her classes. He also mentioned informing the other Professors privately as to the exact nature of the kind of snake Naga was despite the Headmaster being kept in the dark. 

He also told her about how he’d confided in the other instructor’s about her ability to speak to snakes being the reason he could guarantee Naga wouldn’t cause any harm to other student’s despite having extremely powerful hallucinogenic venom that wouldn’t actually physically harm anyone in the rare situation he would possibly need to defend her from harm.

She was grateful that none of her teachers would panic at the first sight of her talking to her currently babbling familiar.

~ _ **I will protect Little Sspeaker from harm...I will bite anything foolissh enough to attack her…**_ ~ She felt kinda flattered at the threats he was muttering aloud against those who would want her hurt. ‘ _It’s actually sweet, in a decidedly sadistic sense.._ ’ She mused to herself walking into the great hall in time for breakfast.

“Oh boy. The fun’s about to start...” She heard from the direction of her house’s table and couldn’t help the amused snort from slipping out.

* * *

It was the moment she’d sat down between Draco and Hermione that the first horrified gasps were heard from Gryffindor table as they took in the sight of Naga slipping his head onto the table, eyeing a plate of bacon greedily.

She rolled her eyes at the dramatic response to her oversize snake, dropping a piece of bacon in front of his face that he snatched out of the air looking pleased at his treat. ‘ _Eh, he is a magical snake after all. I’m pretty sure a bit of greasy food won’t hurt him too much once in a while.._ ’ She thought to herself, already making a mental note not to give him so many such treats too often.

~ ** _Mmm….Little Sspeaker is very kind…_** ~ She rolled her eyes again at the pleased look in his yellow eyes already knowing Draco’s going to be telling his father about Naga’s apparent love of greasy foods, already seeing the diet she’d have to put him on at this rate to keep him from getting too fat.

~ _ **Yeah yeah, I know you only like me in the morning when I give you food.**_ ~ She hissed quietly to her smug viper, noticing the rest of her house going silent at the sound, turning their attention to her.

“Um…”

“You’re a Parselmouth?!” Gemma whispered harshly, looking more surprised then angry or afraid.

“Y-yes? Professor Prince talked to me about how my family’s apparently got a possible history of the genetic trait showing up in them, even if theirs were never the active one I was born with. It’s not something I really talk about for obvious reasons.” At her gesture towards the horror struck Gryffindors two tables away staring at her like she was about to start spitting venom herself and attack them, the older Slytherin’s nodded their heads in understanding.

“Well, you don’t have anything to worry about from us, right?” The boy she now knew was the male boy prefect Graham Montague, asked the rest of their house who all nodded at the boy’s statement. She felt relieved then that at the very least she’d have her house supporting her.

* * *

After breakfast ended and she directed her oversize viper to follow beside her, rather than trying to steal more pieces of bacon, she and her fellow first year housemates headed towards Transfiguration. She failed to notice the subtle way however, that her fellow snakes were keeping her towards the middle of the group with Naga hissing approvingly at the act of defending his ‘Little Speaker’ from potential threats.

The expression on their teacher’s face however at the sight of Naga’s shear size for the first time had her break out in quiet giggles when she flinched away slightly from the nearly 7 foot long reptile when he directed his yellow eyes towards her.

~ ** _Are all grown humanss this eassily frightened?_** ~ She struggled slightly at keeping her amused smile from spreading.

~ ** _Only when in front of a giant snake as intimidating as you are, my friend._** ~ The serpent hissed out an amused laugh before the stern Professor started the lesson for that day on attempting to turn their teacups into mice.

‘ _Oh dear…Naga’s gonna have a fit…_ ’ She was proven right of course, because why would she be wrong about this of all things, when a nearby Ravenclaw lost track of their successfully transfigured mouse as it scurried off their desk and onto the floor. It didn’t take Naga long at all to return with it though, and a distinctly distended stomach looking content.

“Miss Black!” She just shrugged her shoulder slightly at the Professor’s stern look.

“He’s a snake, Professor, in a room that’s steadily filling with live mice. I would be worried he was sick or something if he didn’t try to eat one that ran past his face like Boots’ did.” McGonagall had the good sense to at least admit she made a somewhat fair point with the argument.

* * *

After class ended and she headed towards the Library with Draco and Hermione for their free period of studying, now plus a giant snake trailing behind after them, she pulled out the book on the basics of Occlumency from nearly a month ago that she’d finally finished reading while in the hospital wing and handed it to Draco to read himself. The blonde looked beyond excited at finally getting a hold of the tome and was already flipping through the damn thing.

Madam Pince nearly had a heart attack at the sight of Naga slithering through her library before reluctantly letting them stay for the hour. Harriet had headed off in search of something new to read when a specific tome caught her attention at once.

‘ _The Philosopher's Guide to the History of Alchemy and Its Application in Charms_ ’ by Nicholas Flamel.

Her eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets when she noted the name of the author as the same sorcerer from her favorite muggle fantasy book. _‘He actually exists?! How much of the myths surrounding the man are actually fact? Did he really create the Philosopher’s stone of legend like the stories stated?_ ’ Her mind was whirling in a storm of questions as she grabbed the ancient book and returned to the table her friends were seated at after checking out the book with Madam Pince.

“What’s this one now? Nicholas Flamel? I’ve heard of him before!” Hermione searched through her bag at that moment before pulling a giant tome from it and setting it down on the table with a solid _thump_ before flipping through it’s pages.

“Here it is! _‘Nicholas Flamel is the creator of the only known sample of the Philosopher’s stone!_ ’ He’s also a famously gifted alchemist.” She read aloud to the two of them.

“Wait, that actually exists?! I thought it was a muggle myth or something. Does it actually turn metal into gold and grant immortal life though?” Hermione shrugged her shoulders at the question, uncertain.

“I imagine Professor Prince would probably be able to tell you more if you wanted to know. I heard that he had studied Flamel’s research for years now even if he himself prefers potions over actual alchemy. You could ask him about it later today?” Harriet made a mental note to do just that when DADA was over.

* * *

Quirrell’s reaction to Naga was the most joy she’d probably felt in the class so far when the skittish man nearly fainted at the beginning of the lesson. He’d then gone on to lecture about some magical snake he’d encountered years ago on his journeys around the world. She hadn’t even paid attention enough to notice that he’d gone the entire lecture that lasted until the end of class without stuttering once. Nor had she noticed the faintest hint of red in the man’s eyes as he spoke.

* * *

It was after they’d begun heading back to the common room after class was dismissed when she’d decided to head off in the direction of the potion’s master’s office down the hall from the actual common room. She bid her friends goodbye, agreeing to meet up once she’d finished with her talk with the Professor, Naga reluctantly following her friends since she was going to be with the only Professor he actually liked enough to trust her safety in.

She knocked on his door, entering when a muffled ‘Enter’ met her ears. She took note of the small office, shelves filled with dozens of books she recognized some of the titles of as being potion’s tones. She turned her attention back to the man himself.

“What is it, Miss Black? Has the bloody snake already taken a bite out of Weasley yet?” He had the gall to smirk at his comment.

“No sir, I actually wanted to talk to you about something I stumbled upon in a book I found in the library.” The man in front of her had a look of horror on his face before he launched himself out of his chair looking as though he was about to have a heart attack.

“What _book_?! Where could you have possibly found that information after all of Dumbledore’s meddlesome paranoia?!” She flinched back at the panicked look in his eye.

“What?! Professor?” He noticed the startled look in her eyes at his reaction and took a moment to calm his panic before settling his own emotions behind his mask again. 

“I just meant Nicholas Flamel! I read about him in this Alchemy book I found.” She reached into her bag then and pulled out said book, which he took note of was indeed a guide to Alchemy and it's practical applications and interactions with Charms.

“ _Oh_.” He fell back into his chair and let out a ragged sigh at the ease in which he’d let himself panic over the girl possibly finding something about  _ that _ .. 

‘ _Of course not you idiot! Not even Dumbledore would be idiotic enough to allow such tomes on the subject to remain in tact with the school’s library after all this time. Of course she would be asking about something like this. Narcissa mentioned the books she’d seen the girl looking into over the summer during their weekly shopping trips._ ’

“Professor? D-did I do something wrong? Is Alchemy a dark subject to discuss or something?” She asked, confused at his response to what she thought was a harmless topic.

‘ _And now she believes it’s something to be worried about. Brilliant, you bumbling moron._ ’ He berated himself mentally before turning his thoughts back to the girl in front of him.

“No, you did nothing wrong, girl. It’s not a dark subject by any definition of the term Miss Black. I apologize, for my earlier reaction to your question, I was lost for a moment in another memory entirely.” She had the courtesy to nod her head at that, looking relieved she hadn’t caused a panic.

“Oh. Good, then, Um, back to my question then?” At his nod she pressed onward. “Hermione mentioned that she’d heard you studied Mr. Flamel’s research for years despite your work in potions, I was wondering if you could tell me more about him? Or what his research involved even.” He was surprised to say the least, though he was beginning to realize that he shouldn’t be when it came to the young girl in front of him.

“Nicolas Flamel is perhaps the greatest mind of the subject of Alchemy this world has ever produced. His research encompasses many categories of the subject and has been used to achieve numerous breakthroughs in the field.” She nodded when he paused briefly, before continuing on once he noted the piece of parchment and fountain pen she’d taken from her bag, settling in for the spontaneous lecture.

“The subject of Alchemy itself is one of the most difficult and ancient magical branches a wizard or witch can attempt to study, thus it is oftentimes not deemed worth the extra effort that is required to truly comprehend the art. There are 4 main goals that nearly all ancient Alchemists strived towards the goal of perfecting: The transmutation of lesser ‘base’ metals such as lead or iron into more valuable ones including silver and gold.” Pausing briefly until she had finished copying the words he’d shared so far. “The creation of the ‘Elixir of immortality, which as the name implies would have the intended purpose of bestowing the drinker eternal youth as well as being left unable to die. The creations of ‘Panaceas’ as a means of obtaining a universal cure for all manner of disease. The final goal of any ancient alchemist was the development of an 'alkahest', or universal solvent capable of dissolving any known substance it came into contact with.” He briefly allowed his thoughts to sort themselves as he noticed her scribbling down the rest of his notes that he'd taken to writing on the chalkboard off to the side of his desk. “Nicholas Flamel is most famous in fact, for the creation of an item that fulfills two of these goals. The elixir of life as well as the transmutation of common metals into pure gold. The-” 

“The Philosopher's Stone. I remember reading about it years ago back in history class in primary school. Muggles have a whole ton of legends about it and Mr. Flamel.” He nodded, surprised that she already knew of its existence before even coming to the damn wizarding world. 

‘ _Eat your heart out Albus! She’s already more knowledgeable than you were at the age of 40 and she’s not even through her first half of her first year at Hogwarts. The girl may just be the youngest budding Alchemist in the last 100 years if my hunch about her interest in the subject is even remotely close.._ ’ Severus couldn’t help but feel smug at the fact that this girl, who spent her entire life raised by muggles, was already in possession of an understanding of the fundamentals of Alchemy that the ‘great' Albus Diumbledore lacked for decades.

“I had heard the stories the muggles told about such topics myself, Miss Black. It was in fact, the main inspiration behind my own studies into the subject for many years, and how I came to write the thesis for a small time Alchemy inscription in a potions catalog several years ago that happened to catch the attention of a certain immortal sorcerer.” Her eyes nearly bulged out of her sockets for the second time that day. 

“You’ve actually  _ met  _ Nicolas Flamel?!  _ The Nicolas Flamel?! _ ” He was worried for a brief moment that the girl would pass out in a moment.

“I have. And the brief and only time we spoke in person is perhaps the most academically insightful moment I have ever experienced. The mind of a wizard, a  _ sorcerer,  _ such as Mr. Flamel is one that few others will ever be able to claim to match.” Thinking about something she wasn’t yet aware of, the man seemed to make up his mind about something she hadn’t even known was in question.

“If you are as curious about the subject, Miss Black, as you have expressed an interest in being today, then I will gladly offer to tutor you in the subject privately if you wish.” ‘ _And the look of nearly fainting returns. Shocking_.’ He mused to himself upon taking in the look of shock on her face.

“You would be willing to do that? But, I didn’t think Hogwarts offered anything about Alchemy? I didn’t hear any of the older students having signed up to take it this year.”

“It normally requires a substantial enough students who desire to take the course after their 5th year, as well as those students obtaining an O on their Potions O.W.L. exam, in order for the class to even be offered as it is not nearly as popular a subject these days. However, as I am the Professor for the course when it is offered, I believe an exception to the rules can be made in your situation Miss Black.” A loud thump drew his attention from the shelf where he kept most of his alchemical tomes that he’d glanced at briefly, only to take in the now unconscious form of the Girl-Who-Lived sprawled across his office floor. 

‘ _ Why am I even surprised? She was swaying on her feet since the lecture began. _ ’ He pinched his nose at the idea of the girl being so pleased by the idea of actually learning Alchemy that she  _ fainted  _ and considered whether or not it would be necessary to call Pomfrey down to his office to collect the girl who may very well have suffered a concussion the  _ day she got of the hospital wing _ .

A sudden knock at his office’s door drew his attention to it before opening to the sight of Granger standing outside it, holding a note and immediately looking towards her unconscious friend. “She’s merely fainted Miss Granger, from an overabundance of ‘excitement’ I believe was her reaction to being offered a chance to study Alchemy personally.” He sighed out, noting that the girl had nodded at his explanation, mentioning how Harriet had shown her and Malfoy the book she’d found before mentioning heading to his office to discuss the subject.

“What’s the note?” reading over it once she handed it over, explaining it was from the Headmaster, he nearly set the piece of parchment on fire in his annoyance at the man’s gall to request a private meeting with Black.

“Thank you for bringing this to my attention Miss Granger, such requests are actually against school regulations as determined by the Board of Governor’s. I will see to it that Miss Black here is not left without my supervision in the Headmaster’s presence.” A quiet groan drew both their attention to the slowly recovering girl in the middle of the floor. 

“Wha’ ‘appened?” She mumbled, groaning again while clutching her head. “My head is pounding.”

“Professor Prince mentioned that you passed out at the mention of private tutoring for Alchemy. Are you okay Harriet?” Granger sounded concerned for her friend’s well-being.

She shook her head. “I don’t...gah!” She gasped at a sudden rush of pain, clutching her head tighter when a sharp lance of pain shot through it worse than before. 

Severus was by her side at once. “Miss Black!” She seemed to sway on her feet for a moment before slumping against her friend’s side who reached out an arm to wrap around the girl’s shoulder to help support her weight.

“Harriet! Professor her scar! It’s bleeding!” She barely registered the words before her vision went black.

**Severus’ P.O.V.:**

He was standing near his student’s hospital bed, waiting as Madam Pomfrey ran diagnostic spell after diagnostic spell trying to figure out _what_ _ happened _ ..

He couldn’t connect the dots as to what happened in his office a little over an hour ago. The girl hadn’t regained consciousness in that time and he was internally panicking. ‘ _What could have caused this?! What would make her scar bleed like that? Unless…_ ’ He rushed past the small group of Slytherins that were gathered near the girl’s bed, Granger and Malfoy appearing distraught over the sight of their friend unconscious and back in a hospital bed so soon after they’d seen her leave one, and out the Hospital wing. He had a Headmaster to confront.

' _Of fucking course! Albus knew this entire time, he knew of the Dark Lord’s means of extending his own life, knew what was accidentally achieved that night 10 years ago in Godric’s Hollow. He knew, and he had said nothing, was seemingly content with the idea of raising the girl in some misguided attempt at obtaining justice for her parent’s by destroying their murderer for good, only to then extinguish her life in the process.’_ Severus knew he was correct in his assumptions, knew that the old bastard had been intentionally pushing the pieces on his little chessboard around to suit his whims, all with the end goal of sacrificing the girl who’s life he had ruined. He knew then that the girl couldn’t be allowed to be left alone with the Headmaster from here on out, and knew that he would have to speak with Lucius about removing the man from his position of power over the school, even if only temporarily. 

‘ _The man is a threat to every student in these halls. The fool allowed a fucking **Cerberus** to be kept in a corridor guarding the most important alchemical artifact in history with only a flimsy locked door keeping it from mauling a student for fucks sake! It won’t be difficult to provide proof to Lucius and the rest of the board when they arrived later that day to investigate the letter Draco had sent about the troll incident being swept under the rug._’ 

Stopping in his tracks, Severus changed course for his office and the private floo within.

* * *

Flooring directly to Malfoy manor and spotting Lucius about to head out to meet with the other board members no doubt, Severus intercepted him.

“Lucius! Thank Merlin you're still here. There’s been an incident with Miss Black earlier this afternoon that resulted in her return to the hospital wing.”

“Whatever happened so soon? The girl was just let out earlier today was she not?” He explained the situation regarding the girl’s sudden pain that ended with her losing consciousness and being transported to the hospital wing.

“I believe, Lucius, that the headmaster has intentionally endangered Miss Black’s life in pursuit of the remnant of our former lord.” The man looked shocked at the idea.

“He’s returned?!” 

“Not entirely I believe, but rather Albus believes he has possessed a teacher most likely. And he seeks Flamel’s stone that Dumbledore had relocated to Hogwarts in some vain attempt to lure him out and have Black deal with him personally. No doubt he intended to have the girl investigate the matter using her assumed ‘Gryffindor foolishness’ the old goat still believes she’s inherited from her parents.” Lucius looked appalled at the idea.

“The stone is at Hogwarts?! Well what should we do? It’s a historical artifact Severus! Not some _trinket_ to be kept around hundreds of wandering students! And then there’s the threat to a student’s life! That hound is a class XXXXX magical creature! It’s a miracle no one has been sent to St. Mungo’s yet for injuries or a mauling!” Severus agreed with the blonde and told him as much.

“We’ll need to put a stop to the threat that Dumbledore presents to the student’s, for a few weeks at least. Alert the board to gather at Hogwarts in one hour. I need to secure an heirloom the old fool has stolen from the girl that is rightfully hers to possess first.” Lucius nodded in agreement.

“Of course, Severus. If what you’ve said about the stone’s canine guardian is true, we should be able to remove the Headmaster until after Yule at the latest. With any luck we’ll be able to suspend his rights as acting Chief Warlock long enough to ensure he can’t interfere in Lord Black’s trial either, kill two birds with one stone as the muggles’ say, yes?. We’ll gather in one hour outside the Great hall in time for dinner, a grand entrance seems fitting if I do say so?”

* * *

Severus departed back through the floo and stepped out of the end in his office, cape billowing behind him as he stormed off in the direction of the Headmaster’s office, the gargoyle leaping out of his way at once.

“Ah, Severus dear boy! What can I do for you? Lemon drop?” He scowled at the bowl of muggle confections, noticing the oddly shaped bundle off to the side on the man’s desk.

“The cloak?! You’ve stolen the girl’s heirloom?! Albus what are you planning now?!” He acted shocked to see the thing, thankful for the decades of experience in schooling his emotions perfectly.

“Nothing so serious my dear boy. The cloak was left in my possession when James’ died and I planned to return it to the girl during the meeting she was meant to attend before dinner this afternoon but she seems to be running late.”

“The girl is preoccupied with an urgent matter that appeared suddenly regarding one of her friends I believe, and is unable to attend the meeting, so she informed me of it instead. Perhaps I could deliver the cloak? Ensure that she isn’t made suspicious of how you came to acquire it? She does after all trust me unquestionably.” The old goat was actually nodding his head at that load of lies!

“You are correct as always Severus. The girl would trust your word easier than my own. Very well, bring her the cloak when she is no longer distracted by her friend’s concern.”

He left the office a moment later, cloak in hand and a look of smug satisfaction on his face. ‘ _That’s right Albus. She does trust my word more than yours and that's exactly why you’ll not win this little game of yours._ ‘

* * *

When he returned to the hospital wing 10 minutes later, the cloak tucked into his robe, it was to the relief inducing sight of the girl finally conscious once more.

“Professor? What happened? I remember feeling like my head was about split open, but then nothing.” Severus felt the grim look on his face that passed over it subconsciously, he turned to the rest of his house bidding they all wait outside for the next few minutes.

“All of you clear the room! There is a matter I must discuss with Miss Black privately!” Waiting until the room had emptied once more, leaving him to speak privately with the girl, Severus flicked his wand towards the large doors at the front end of the hall and a familiar green light appeared briefly before fading once more.

“I’m afraid, Miss Black, that at the moment I have only theories regarding, to what exactly, was the cause of your injury today.” At her slight nod he continued, praying that his hunch was wrong, that he was just the paranoid bastard he knew he could be at the best of times.

“Tell me something, what have you learned about the Dark Lord before his defeat at your hands?” She was surprised at the question, to say the least.

“Um, well...I know he was a powerful wizard right? And that for some reason he seemed to want me dead when I was a baby. I know that there was a war he led one side of and that Dumbledore opposed him from the other. And I know that he apparently didn’t much like muggles at all, which I can’t really blame him for that.” Severus’ mouth ticked up at that, the barest hint of a smirk before smoothing back into a flat line.

“You are correct in your information thus far Miss Black. Tell me, do you know what soul magic is?” She furrowed her brows together in confusion at the question, shaking her head in the negative. “Soul magic is an extremely old and obscure branch of magic, very few wizards have made any attempts into even trying to understand the subject. The Dark Lord is one of those few. He attempted to achieve what no other wizard in history had, and cheat death by obtaining immortality.”

“And he tried using this….soul magic? To do that?”

“That is correct. I have been able to glean the true nature of his exact methods through years of serving him as a spy for the headmaster. The Dark Lord believed my loyalty to be absolute.”

“Was it though? Your loyalty to him? Or was it actually Dumbledore you served as the spy of instead?” He was shocked at the look in her eyes, like she wouldn’t have blamed him if he confirmed the fact. “Dumbledore’s proven to be nothing but manipulative since the day I found he even existed, sir. So I wouldn’t fault you if your role as a spy was applied to both sides of the war. I’ve thought about it a lot, actually, since school started and I heard other’s opinions of the man who murdered my parents.” He felt the slight bob of his head for her to continue, even though he was floored with what he was hearing. 

‘ _The girl distrusts the old goat more than she fears the Dark Lord himself?! Albus you really have failed in swaying her to your side after all..’_

“I’ve realized, over the last month especially...that I don’t actually hate him for what he did, you know? I may not understand the reasons behind it fully, but I do understand that they were in war at the time. And in war people die, there’s no avoiding that fact. And my parents choose to fight in the war despite having a baby to raise at home. They choose a war over me, over keeping me safe. And a part of me, Professor...a part of me feels bitter over that. It hates them for making that choice when they made the same choice to even have me in the first place during a time when everyone around them were seconds away from possibly being killed.” She took a moment to let out a ragged breath, eyes starting to sting. 

“I-Is that wrong? Of me to feel like that? To feel like they choose a damn war over me?” He collapsed into the chair off to the side.

“Of course it isn’t. They were your parents yes, but you’re allowed to feel this way, Miss Black. I imagine anyone in the same situation as yourself would feel the exact same way as you do now. Being angry at your family does not suddenly make you a bad person like you may be thinking it does. It means that you’re human, that you don’t shy away from your feelings even if they don’t seem like positive ones.” 

“You’re right, Professor. And thanks, for another surprisingly effective pep talk.” The gall of the girl! He scowled at her cheek, wondering not for the first time if he should just hurl himself from the astronomy tower rather than continue putting up with her cheekiness.

“Mention it again outside of this room, Miss Black, and I shall remove your tongue in your sleep and pickle it in a jar.” She had the nerve to laugh at his empty threat.

“Anyways, that’s why I don’t find myself blaming You know who. I’ve read about how he was a student here during Dumbledore’s earlier years as headmaster, and if he was wronged even remotely like how I was, then I’m not surprised he waged war against the headmaster.”

“I see. A rather unique perspective of the matter Black. But back to the subject of the Dark Lord’s efforts of obtaining immortality. He uncovered a method of using soul magic to split his soul into fragments that could then be stored in other items. These items, these 'Horcruxes', then allowed for the wizard’s continued survival in the event of their apparent death. So long as the item remained in tact with the piece of their soul, they would not move on and would essentially be rendered immortal.”

“And he did this? Split his soul? That’s kinda morbid to think about a bunch of items around the world just randomly holding some guy’s soul pieces don’t you think?”

“He did. And as the act of splitting one’s soul, of creating a ‘Horcrux’, is one that requires a murder to be commit with intent…” There, the girl finally was connecting the dots behind his horrifying theory.

“You think that’s why my scar was bleeding earlier? You think he accidentally did that to me that night when he tried to kill me? That he somehow managed to accidentally turn _**ME**_ into one of his Horcruxes?!” She realized subconsciously that she was close to panicking again.

“I do not know for certain, only that it appears to be the closest theory regarding what truly happened that night your parents were killed. And I believe the headmaster is aware of your possible connection to the Dark Lord.”

“He’s planning to kill me then? To defeat You know who once and for all?” At the man’s nod she fell back onto her pillows, feeling slightly in shock.

“He will not however do so anytime in the near future I believe. He’ll want to ensure that you are the only remaining tether keeping the Dark Lord to this world before sacrificing you, so to speak, in the name of the ‘greater good’.” Reaching into his robes, he pulled out the girl’s family heirloom.

“This belongs to you I believe, courtesy of the headmaster himself.” Smirking at the look of awe on the girl’s face as she took the cloak into her hands, he noticed the tear that escaped her eye.

“Thank you. This means more than you can imagine Professor.” It was then that Pomfrey came by to dismiss the girl, mentioning that she was clear to leave in time for dinner.

* * *

Severus guided her through the halls personally, along with the rest of his house that were standing guard outside the hospital wing. 

“Before I forget, Miss Black. I believe tonight’s dinner will include quite the show that I’m certain you’ll find entertaining.”

“What did you do this time…” He merely smirked at the suspicious look in her eye, parting towards his seat at the head table as the rest of his house filled in along their own.

It was just as dessert was being served that Lucius Malfoy chose to make his grand entrance alongside the entire school board of governors. The massive doors to the hall swung open as the sound in the hall fell quiet at once, every student turning towards the sight of the tall blonde leading the group of wizards holding enough power to make Albus Dumbledore’s life very uncomfortable.. 

The headmaster stood from his golden throne at the head of the teacher’s table.

“Ah, Lucius! To what does Hogwarts owe the pleasure of your appearance on this night?” Severus smirked to himself, noticing the look on the girl’s face as she connected the dots behind his earlier words and saw the look of amusement on her face. ‘ _Even the bloody snake looks to be enjoying the entertainment!_ ’ 

Indeed Naga was visibly watching the approaching shitstorm that was about to become Albus Dumbledore’s life with a pleased look in his yellow eyes from beside the raven haired girl the snake was so protective of.

“We are here, Albus, to investigate several matters that have been brought to the board’s attention recently. Including the report from a concerned staff member about the safety of the student populace in regards to an alleged ‘forbidden corridor’ containing an extremely endangered class XXXXX magical creature.” At this he nodded to the small group of men behind the rest of the board who went off to determine the presence of the Cerberus in question.

“The Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures shall determine whether the claim has any merit, Headmaster. The second matter is the alleged ‘safeguarding’ of a one of a kind historical artifact in the school!”

“It is not the board’s concern as to what the headmaster deems important enough to safeguard-” The tall lord interrupted the headmaster’s claims.

“Actually, Albus, it  **_is_ ** the board’s concern when the item in question does not actually belong to the headmaster as Mr. Flamel’s stone does not. It is not within the Headmaster of the school’s authority to decide such matters. The stone will be returned to Mr. Flamel immediately, and the board will determine the exact period of time for your immediate suspension from the role of Headmaster. Until then the Deputy Hea-” Lucius was interrupted however by a sudden column of fire appearing in the middle of the hall, a man Severus recognized at once as being the famed Alchemist himself appearing the moment the flames faded away.

‘ _The girl is going to faint again, I can see it already when she realizes exactly who he is._ ’ Severus couldn’t help think to himself. ‘ _Perhaps this would be useful to take advantage of in fact. I imagine the girl would have quite the response to meeting her apparent idol._ ’ While Severus was conspiring about how to avoid introducing the two in a way that would result in the loss of consciousness in the one, the alchemist in question spoke up for the first time since his dramatic entrance.

“It is of no concern, Lucius. The stone I lent my former student was in fact a clever fake.” ‘ _And she’s made the connection if the shocked look and twitch of her eye is any clue._ ’ The immortal sorcerer pulled from his pocket a small red stone before tossing it to the ground, looking bored as it shattered. 

“The real stone is impervious to damage after all. I was concerned about the headmaster’s plans when he requested the stone be transferred to his safekeeping, thus I deemed it important to leave a fake in its place at Gringotts.” It was then that Severus felt the old wizard’s eyes land on him for the first time that night.

“Ah! Severus! It’s a pleasure to see you again my friend. Tell me, have you finally decided on an aspiring apprentice to take on yet?” He noticed the knowing look in Flamel’s eye and had to bite back a smirk at the idea of the young Snake that had just that day expressed a fascination with the subject that rivaled that of a younger version of himself.

“As it so happens, I believe I have. If you could spare the time after dinner here has concluded perhaps you would care to be introduced to them yourself.” From the corner of his eye, Severus noticed the girl in question’s eyes widen to ridiculous proportions in shock at the idea, no doubt realizing he was actually referring to her. 

_‘Really, the way she act’s it’s like I’ve never done anything kind for the girl._ ’ He rolled his eyes internally.

“Truly?! Well I’d have to say I’d very much like the chance to meet the student able to earn the great Severus Prince’s rarely offered praise on the subject.” It was after the immortal had left the hall and Lucius had Dumbledore escorted out shortly after and the student’s were dismissed that he caught the girl’s attention and gestured for her to stay behind.

“Professor?” She squeaked out, not even bothering to feel embarrassed at her reaction.

“I believe Mr. Flamel is waiting to meet you Miss Black. After all it isn’t every day he meet’s someone I’ve taken under my teaching in the subject he has spent the last half a thousand years studying.”

“But, why would you even offer something like that?! I don’t know more than what your notes from today mentioned! I’ll look like a fool to somewhat like Mr. Flamel!” She felt close to panicking at the idea of meeting the Alchemist.

“Mr. Flamel is an understanding man, Miss Black. And is passionate about any wizard or witch with an interest in the subject of Alchemy. He’ll be proud to meet an aspiring alchemist as young as yourself I’d wager. The man tried to take me on as his student the only time we’d met but my passion for potions led to me turning down his offer, though we still communicate occasionally through letters to discuss certain topics.”

“Oh.” She was full on panicking internally at this point.

* * *

It was when they exited the entrance hall into the nearly empty courtyard where they spotted the famed alchemist waiting that she felt her nerves skyrocket even higher.

“So this is the one that caught your attention Severus? I dare say I never thought one so young would be capable of convincing you of all people to finally deem to take an apprentice.”

“The girl has only just brought attention to myself about her interest in the subject Nicolas. She’s barely had the time to even begin to study the basics yet I’m afraid.” 

“Well I imagine that’s something you’ll be quick to change my friend? Anyone able to convince you must have a passion greater than your own to convince you to take them as a student.” Turning towards her he offered his hand that she took lightly, shaking it once. ”A pleasure, as you no doubt have been told, my name is Nicolas Flamel.”

“H-Harriet. Harriet Black.” At that he took notice of the Black family crest on her heir ring.

“Truly?! My word, Severus. You didn’t mention that your student was the heir to the house of Black!” At this she felt her face flush slightly. “The house of Black has always possessed an aptitude for producing outstanding examples of Alchemists in Britain’s history.”

"Oh. Well, I wasn’t actually born to the house of Black, sir. My godfather was Sirius Black you see, and he blood adopted me when I was a baby in case anything happened to my birth parents. When they died he became my legal father, and I was named his heir. So I’m not sure how much I actually can claim is from them really.” She felt her nerves lesson slightly at the man’s look, feeling her internal panic calm slowly the longer she talked to him. “I’m actually a Potter by birth.”

“My word! The Potter’s have always, while demonstrating a lack of pursuit in the field of Alchemy, preferred an interest in potions instead. If Severus has taken you as an apprentice, you must have great skill in his class as well.”

“She does indeed. The girl is already the top of her class in the subject, narrowly surpassing even the likes of Mr. Malfoy.” She looked surprised at the information.

“But Draco’s a prodigy, Professor. I doubt I’m actually even capable of ever surpassing him.” her head of house just shook his head.

“Far from it actually. Mr Malfoy currently holds the second highest score in the class, while you are as of now the only first year in the history of my class to possess a perfect grade in the subject.” She was shocked at the fact that she’d apparently managed to obtain the highest grade in the history of any other first year in Professor Prince’s class.

“Well then, it seems that you’ve inherited half the necessary skills to excel in the field of alchemy, Miss Black, while the other half appears to have been gained through personal interest. I wish you luck then, in your pursuit of knowledge in the field of Alchemical study. I expect great things from you dear girl, and will look forward to seeing what you accomplish.” She nearly flinched back when the man suddenly seemed to melt into water that surged through the air and into the nearby fountain.

“What the hell?!”

“Language Miss Black.” he scolded, though it was somewhat ruined by the slight smirk on his face at her reaction. “Mr. Flamel excels in the art of alchemical transportation, and it is a rather astounding sight to witness indeed.”

“Wait, you mean he can turn his body into different substances and use them as a means of transportation across vast distances?” Severus wasn’t even surprised that she seemed to put the concept of the technique together so quickly.

“It is a rare skill to be able to master. And one that few alchemists in history have been able to gain over the years.” She nodded in agreement.

“So he’s always that much of a show off in front of others is what you’re implying?” He barked out a laugh at her raised brow, not even trying to stop the sound from escaping.

* * *

**Harriet's P.O.V.:**

They headed back to the common room after that, Severus informing her of their first proper lesson in Alchemy would be that Saturday afternoon. Harriet fell asleep that night more excited about the idea of learning then she’d ever been.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So the entire section with Harriet meeting Nicolas Flamel wasn't even suppose to happen until like, year three? oops. But I found a chance to squeeze in an entrance by him and after the previous lecture scene couldn't help but include Snape being a little shit and setting up an introduction between his favorite snakling and the famous alchemist. 
> 
> Also it's my headcanon that Harriet growing up reading a book about someone like Nicolas Flamel a few dozen times over the years would influence her own interests in Alchemy once she realizes it's something that actually exists along with magic. Especially when the first books she finds at Hogwarts about the subject that actually mentions his existence relating to charms as well, you can grantee that she's going to have a passion for learning as much as she can about it lol. 
> 
> Also I'm so confirming the fact that she's Snape's favorite student lol. There's no way I was going to continue the canon hate Snape had for Harry here, and this chapter is the first real proof that Snape's going to be serving as the resident anti-social uncle of the makeshift family lol. Because Harriet really has found herself in the middle of a rather chaotic little family already lol. She's got her siblings Draco and Hermione, Aunt Cissa spoiling everyone, while Uncle Lucius is the over dramatic uncle everyone needs lol. Sirius showing up is just going to make the situation even more amazing mark my words lol. And I'm betting on Harriet just flat out calling Snape 'Uncle Sev' on Draco's insistence by Yule next year and his head just imploding because of it lol.
> 
> Next chapter a time skip and will be taking place at the beginning of yule and the trial! Not gonna lie, I'm excited to write this thing lol. Fair warning though I know next to nothing about legal matters concerning the state of trials and will probably be just making it up as I go along or stripping any legal talk from the trial itself as much as possible. Harriet's finally going to meet Sirius face to face and there's most certainly going to be happy tears lol. 
> 
> Leave your thought's on this chapter if you liked it, I'm always wanting to hear all of your thoughts on each one lol. Helps me get a feel for the changes I'm making and what you guys do and don't want to see in the future lol.


	9. Yule

The following weeks after the meeting of her lifetime bleed together for Harriet. She’d had several private lessons with Professor Prince, where he’d gone into great depths about the theoretical applications and laws of Alchemy and its connection to both potions and muggle Chemistry. 

He’d also taught her several basic elemental charms to practice basic elemental transmutation on, and wasn’t that entertaining? When she’d ‘accidentally’ set Weasley’s robes aflame with the Bluebell Flames Charm before applying her understanding of the branch, where the flames spontaneously warped into ice cold water. The boy had ended up drenched from the shoulder down.

Officially no one could figure out how it’d happened and the staff were left baffled at the sight of the shivering boy in burnt robes. Behind the closed doors of the Slytherin Common Room however the rest of her house had cheered her on for the prank and her head of house had even awarded her 10 points for the ‘practical application of advanced alchemical practices’.

* * *

In no time at all, she and Draco were standing in front of the Hogwarts Express that would be taking most of the student’s home for the holidays including her, having accepted Narcissa's offer to stay with the family over the two weeks.

Her friends were each sitting huddled in the same compartment, Neville and Draco discussing possible holiday plans, while she and Hermione were having a conversation about what she’d learnt in her Alchemy lessons.

“It’s a simple charm actually, if you want I could give you my notes on it?” She offered her friend the notes about the modified Bluebell Flames charm that had quickly become one of her favorites she’d learned from her head of house after successfully pulling off that transmutation trick on Weasley a few weeks back.

“Honestly Harriet, I’m a bit jealous you get to learn these spells from Professor Prince of all people while the rest of us have to learn the basic version. It’s well known throughout Slytherin house that he incorporates his own twists to them.” Her frizzy haired friend looked mildly annoyed at the fact, but Harriet just felt a tad smug at having something academic over her friend.

“Hey, I’m just glad that there’s something I know for probably the only time it’ll ever happen that you don’t ‘mione. And besides you just have to ask. I’d gladly lend you my notes on Professor Prince’s spell changes.” 

Draco spoke up then about how they were nearly there.

“Aren’t you excited Harriet? Father says that Sirius’ trial will take place next week! He’s certain that he’ll be cleared of everything and you’ll be able to stay with him at the Black townhouse.” She nodded towards her blonde friend.

“It will definitely be nice to have an actual family again. Plus I’ve been looking forward to getting a chance to go through the family library. Mr. Flamel talked about in his last letter how the House of Black’s got a history of Alchemists through the years.” Oh, did she forget to mention she’s pen pals with her childhood idol thanks to her professor?

Hermione seemed to pout at the mention of the Black library. “You’re so lucky Harriet! You get the chance to study a thousand years worth of magical history whenever you want. I’d kill for a glimpse of some of those books...” She made a mental note to look into supplying her friend with a few of the less dangerous books at some point.

* * *

The first week spent over the holiday’s was an interesting one for Harriet. Draco had explained the different traditions his family usually did during the holidays, while Narcissa took time to talk to her about different things about the house of Black, something the woman had taken to doing with her whenever she could. She’d even gotten a chance to see her adopted father’s face for the first time when Narcissa had shown her a photograph of the man from her birth parents wedding.

* * *

**Lucius’ POV (Day of the trial):**

It was almost too easy really, getting Black a trial after all this time. Amelia was ruthless in her persuasion of the rest of the Wizengamot to grant Sirius Black a fair trial after being denied one for 10 years, the mention of it leaving the Girl-Who-Lived in the care of muggles being more than enough incentive to the others to proceed accordingly.

Once Black’s appointed mind healer confirmed that the man was perfectly healthy concerning his mental health, the trial commenced at once.

It was almost as much a relief, as it was surprising, at how quickly things went and how smoothly the sentence was cleared once Black provided his testimony under the effects of Veritaserum.

“What is your full name?” Amelia questioned once the potion had been administered.

“Sirius Orion Black.”

“Are you a halfblood wizard?”

“No, pureblood.”

“Is your mother Walburga Black”

“Yes.

And then the actual trial questioning began.

“Did you murder Peter Pettigrew along with 12 muggles on the night of October 31st 1981?”

“No, wanted to kill Peter though.” He mumbled the second part.

“Why would you want to murder Pettigrew?”

“He betrayed us, all of us. We, James, Lily, and I, all realized that making me their secret keeper would be the expected choice for anyone who even remotely knew us. I was their best friend, it was obvious. So we switched at the last second, Peter became the keeper instead. He betrayed the Potter’s to Voldemort.” At this a series of gasps were heard throughout the crowd.

“I went after Peter, wanted him to pay for betraying them. But he escaped down the sewers. Turned into a rat and fled like the scum he was. Peter cast the curse that killed the muggles to frame me.”

“What do you mean by he ‘turned into a rat’?”

“He’s an animagus, we all were. James, Peter, and I. His form is a rat. We should have known then what a coward he really was.”

That was all it took to clear the man. Really, Lucius was shocked anyone had the gall to even condemn the man in the first place with how easy it was to establish the truth.

“In the trial of Sirius Orion Black, we of the Wizengmot find you cleared of all charges.” The clanging of the gavel rang out across the room as Black slumped in the chair relieved.

* * *

**Harriet’s POV (The day after the trial):**

It was the morning before Yule itself when Harriet came down the stairs from her room she’d been staying in the last week, when she’d found perhaps the biggest surprise of her life.

Looking at the man in front of her, the man who looked nearly unchanged in the decade since the photo she’d been given by Aunt Cissa, she noticed at once that the man had started shedding tears as he noticed her appearance.

“Pup...” She fell into his arms, hugging him tight as she felt his arms wrap around her, his chin resting on her head. “It’s really you. I thought I’d never see you again Harriet.” She heard the tears in his tone, his voice sounding thick.

“Sirius…” Stepping back to look at Lucius who was watching the heartwarming moment along with Narcissa, they both thanked him for his work at freeing her father.

“You’re family Harriet. It was my pleasure to help you with something like this.” Lucius informed her before Narcissa spoke up, mentioning them all probably wanting to head towards the dinning room for breakfast. At the mention of food Sirius seems to light up in joy, like the namesake of his animagus.

“Oh! There’s still someone you have to meet Sirius. Naga!” She called to the grumpy, morning-hating viper who slithered into the room from the dining room he had already been waiting in for his own breakfast. Sirius nearly fainted at the sight of the 7 foot long Jeweled Viper that crawled up to her like an annoyed puppy.

“Sirius, meet Naga. He’s a Jeweled Viper and my familiar. Naga, this is Sirius, the man who blood adopted me that I talked about before.

~ _ **He ssmellss of fear...Little Sspeaker...and wet dogss…**_ ~ She giggled at the pleased tone from her snake at the mention of yet another person he successfully intimidated.

~ ** _Name someone outside of this room besides Professor Prince who wasn’t afraid of you when they saw you for the first time?_** ~ Sirius looked shocked at the open display of Parseltongue being spoken, despite Lucius having told him about it in one of their meetings before the trial.

“English please Harriet. Before my cousin here is given a reason to faint in fear.” Narcissa spoke up, pitying the poor man.

“Sorry.” She giggled at the reminder that not everyone could understand Parseltongue. “Naga was just talking about how Sirius smelled of fear and wet dogs apparently. I told him that the first was how everyone seems to smell to him when they see him for the first time.” Sirius looked offended at the wet dog comment.

“ _Excuse me_?! I do not smell like a wet dog! It’s just overall dog thank you very much. You try turning into a hairy mutt for hours at a time.”

“Wait, you’re an _animagus_?!” She looked towards Lucius at that, looking slightly betrayed. “You never mentioned that bit!”

The blonde had the decency to look embarrassed at the slip.

“Now then. Breakfast?” And **that’s** how Sirius Black earned the loyalty of her guard-snake.

* * *

She spent the rest of the day with Sirius, listening to his stories about the House of Black once he found out she was so fascinated with it. She talked about Hogwarts, how she was top of her class in Charms and Potions and how Professor Prince was privately teaching her about alchemy. 

“You know, the family library has a few rarer books on Alchemy now that I think about it. If you wanted to, you could read through them at some point over the holidays if you wanted to start moving in.”

“You- You actually _want_ me to move in with you?” Thinking she didn’t want to he rushed to explain that she didn’t have to if she wanted to stay with the Malfoys, only to be stopped by her hugging him, her head against his chest. “I’d love to.”

“You **_would_**? But I thought you'd want to stay here with my cousin and her family?” He was surprised to say the least when he felt her shake her head against his chest before stepping back.

“Don’t get me wrong, I’m grateful for the Malfoy’s for everything they’d done for me the last 4 months, and Narcissa’s family, but you’re my father as far as I’m concerned. You’re the reason I’m proud to wear this ring.” She held up her right hand. “I’d be proud to live at the Black ancestral home with you, Sirius. Though Narcissa did mention you kinda hated your family. Maybe we can stay in one of the Pot-” He stopped her from talking.

“That’s not necessary pup. I may have little love for my parents personally, but you’re my family as well, you’re my daughter through blood if not through birth. And I know family’s important to you. If you want to stay at Grimmauld, then I’ll be happy to help you move in with me. Oh! That reminds me actually, KREACHER!” A dull pop sounded through the air as the oldest, most irritated looking house elf she’d ever seen appeared suddenly. 

“Mistresses blood-traitor son calls for poor Kreacher?” He growled out, sounded like he wanted to poison the man's tea rather than be there right now.

“I need you to start clearing out the 3rd floor Ladies bedroom. Harriet here will be moving in with me at the end of the week. She’s too be treated like the heir to the House of Black that she is by right of blood adoption.” At his mention of her, the elf turned towards her, raising a brow at the ring on her finger before his golfball sized eyes widened further.

“The Blood traitor has adopted an heir? Oh mistress will be most-” 

“It’s kind to meet you Kreacher. I’m glad to meet the elf that’s served our Noble and Most Ancient family for so many years and with such loyalty.” Sirius groaned at that, muttering what sounded suspiciously like ‘and now he’s gonna like her already. They’re gonna team up against me. I can see it now..’ Kreacher narrowed his eyes towards Sirius, looking as though he were expecting it to be a cruel trick that she was polite to him.

“The blood traitor is deceiving poor Kreacher. He would not be presenting an heir so polite as this.” 

“Why not, Kreacher? I respect the house that accepted me when Sirius blood adopted me. And of course I was nice? You’ve done nothing to make me think you’re a bad elf when it comes to our family’s past, why wouldn’t I be kind to you?” The grouchy elf promptly burst into tears at that, rambling about how ‘mistress will be most pleased at such a kind and respectful heir being in her house once more’ before hugging onto her leg like he was afraid she’d vanish.

“Now you’ve done it. He’s going to spoil the hell out of you in some way because of this. He only acts like this when someone ‘respectful’ of our family meets him. He’s very blood purist though, years serving my mother must have addled his mind a bit. He hates muggleborns though.”

“I don’t care much for muggles themselves personally, but one of my closest friends is muggleborn, and she’s probably as respectful towards the noble houses and wizarding tradition as I am.” At that Kreacher looked like Dobby at the idea of being given clothes when she'd asked him about it once and he mentioned dreaming of it until Lucius started improving his way of treating the elves after meeting her. 

She figured Kreacher would probably murder them both though if they even thought of freeing him from serving the house of Black. ‘Would probably try strangling me while Sirius chokes on poisoned tea.’

“Kreacher will respect Mistresses’ muggleborn friend. Mistress is not like her blood-traitor father at all.” She may not have cared much for the elf’s use of ‘Blood-Traitor’ when talking about her father, but she couldn’t quite bring herself to feel guilty over the feeling of smug joy at the old elf favoring her over Sirius.

The man in question looked as though Kreacher had personally opened a gate to hell and declared himself to be running for Minister of Magic.

“He’s tolerating a muggleborn. Because of you being _nice_?! It’s official I’m never going to be able to deal with either of you two again without going insane aren’t I?” She just broke out laughing at the man’s exasperated look, while Kreacher looked pleased at the notion of driving him insane.

* * *

The next morning saw them all exchanging and opening gifts. She’d given Narcissa a rather fancy necklace that had a silver crow with a ruby eye dangling from it, the word’s ‘Toujours Pur’ inscribed upon a silver wand clutched in its talons. It'd been a lucky find of Kreacher's when he'd been sorting through her future bedroom to make it liveable.

“Oh Harriet, it’s beautiful. Thank you.” The woman had smiled at her after opening the gift.

Lucius had received a rather ironic pin in the shape of an albino peacock in full pride. She’d given Draco a book Kreacher had found for her on ancient runes from the Black Library, after she’d had him check it was fully safe of course. Sirius’ gift had been another thing Kreacher of all people helped her come up with, being two parts with the elf having the comical idea of giving the man a muggle dog collar with the tag reading ‘Padfoot’. The other,  _ actual _ , gift she’d come up with  _ without _ the elf’s pranking, was a bracelet enchanted to grow warm in the presence of those seeking harm to the wearer. 

Needless to say there’d been a lot of hugging from everyone over their gifts from her, even Kreacher who looked shocked at the jinxed set of tea cups she’d given him after Lucius had mentioned it sitting in the manor attic for years after she'd inquired about any potentially humorously jinxed items lying around. The elf looked pleased when she mentioned that it made the drinker’s hair turn bright, ridiculous, colors while subtly glancing towards Sirius from the corner of her eye with a mischievous grin on her face at the idea. 

Her own gifts from each of them had earned them all their fair share of overjoyed tears from the Black Heiress

Narcissa had given her a book on advanced charms and their applications in alchemy to go with her copy of the ‘The Philosopher's Guide to the History of Alchemy and Its Application in Charms’ that she’d found during a trip to Diagon Alley with Narcissa earlier in the week. 

Lucius had given her a set of charmed raven feather quills that always write evenly and elegantly even when the writer’s hands might shake from nerves.  She was touched that he'd gotten her something to help with her nerves during tests that she’d confided over the summer from suffering from in past years during primary school.

Hermione, being Hermione, had gifted her the complete 6 book set from her favorite childhood muggle book ‘The Alchemist’, giving her the complete ‘Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel’ series. She was thankful that her own gift to her friend of a set of wizarding fairy tail books was a fitting gift then.

Draco had given her a book titled ‘A Guide to Dueling Charms Both Basic and Advanced’ after taking note of the gift his mother had shown him the day before.

“You can never be too careful after all. Plus you’re already wicked at charms, I’m sure you’ll think of new ways to use them in a duel.”

Sirius had given her the Potter  **_and_ ** Black family grimoires, with a comment about different spells being in the former to help her manage her ‘unruly’ Potter hair as well as the later having a host of ancient alchemical spells and notes in it that were sure to make both her teacher’s green with envy as well as both having several pages on family specific spells, charms and even a few nasty jinxes and a curse or two in the Black grimoire. He’d said the last part with a wink towards her when mentioning the jinxes and possible curses because _of course_ Sirius is the sort to face his own family baggage to give her a book that most likely held at least a few very much illegal curses to keep her safe.

Even the two elves had given her presents. Kreacher had provided her a subscription to a fairly questionably legal bookstore in Knockturn Alley that catered to more morally questionable charms and potions. Because of course the grouchy elf would. Dobby had given her a rather large box of dark chocolate from around the world. When she said large, she was fairly certain the thing weighed close to 10 pounds of full size bars of the stuff. 

But it was the gift from Nicolas Flamel and Professor Prince she was currently looking at with an eager look in her eye that had Sirius wondering about the possibility of her having inherited the Black madness somehow. 

A rather large book titled ‘Elemental Transmutations and The Dark Arts’ co-written by Potion’s Master Severus Prince and Master Alchemist Nicolas Flamel, because of course they’d give her perhaps the _only_ book in the _world_ about this particular hybrid of the topics, and a smaller book detailing the art of spell creation. Reading the small note on the inside of the cover of the smaller book, she was brought to tears of joy yet again.

‘ _For the future youngest Master Alchemist in history. Show those old goats at the ministry what true alchemy looks like. We both believe in your potential._

_ S. Prince _

_ Ps. I have 50 galleons on you coming up with something that will earn your mastery before you're 15 against Flamel who thinks you’ll take until you’re at least 17. Don’t let me down Black. _ _’_

Sirius barked out a laugh after reading the note from over her shoulder.

“Severus admitting to believing in someone? Now I’m certain you’re going to match his words and get your mastery before graduating. I may just match their bet myself for you getting it by 14.” She hit him in the shoulder with the larger book at his antics, making him yell out in mock pain at his daughter ‘attacking him’.

* * *

The week following Yule had seen her and Sirius arriving at Grimmauld place, Kreacher having shocked both of them at being able to liven the place up so much in only a week. 

Where there once was a dust filled, dilapidated looking gloomy townhouse, there now stood a sparkling clean, pristine looking Ancestral House of the family of Black. Sunlight shown through the newly cleaned windows, each room was cleaned and sorted of any cursed or Jinxed belongings Kreacher had uncovered that had then been moved to the attic to be dealt with later. Even the portrait of Sirius’ mother was quiet at the sight of her former home in such a state of life as well as the Heiress in front of her. 

It felt like coming home for the first time for Harriet. She’d taken her bag filled with her gifts up to her room while Sirius talked with Kreacher about sorting out dinner. Sorting out her belongings that were in her bag currently, the rest of her trunk having to wait until she returned for the summer, onto the different shelves around her room, she’d blushed slightly at the realization that she had a lot of damn books at this point, judging from the now filled shelves full of over 100 of the things.

‘ _Why didn’t I bother putting them in my trunk at some point? No wonder I couldn’t find anything in the damn mess!_ ’ 

Relaxing on her bed after taking note of the newly confiscated quilt Naga had taken as his second nest, the small silver snakes ( _ so sue her) _ visible beneath the pleased Viper. 

~ ** _It may have taken a while Naga, but we’re home. We actually have a home, with family that doesn’t hate us for being odd._** ~ She spoke quietly to her friend.

~ _ **Yess Little Sspeaker...you have made a home here...you are ssafe…**_ ~ She smiled at his words, glad to finally say he was right. That she was actually safe..

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So who do you think is going to eventually win that little bet? lol. Because no one can argue that Severus wouldn't be the kind of person to bet with immortal sorcerer's about his students future success and I can guarantee that she's going to find some way to pull it off lol. Also, yes I made her and Kreather getting along at Sirius' expense lol. I couldn't help myself I'm rather fond of the irritable old elf lol.


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He's here!!!!

**Voldemort’s P.O.V:**

Lord Voldemort was not a foolish man. 

He knew that now with the stone being revealed as a fake and the headmaster removed for a time, that his plans for revival would have to change. And he had devised the perfect method of doing so through the aid of his two most loyal followers.

He’d taken control of Quirrell’s pathetic body completely and apparated to the now abandoned Riddle Manor, before calling to his two followers through their marks. The looks of barely concealed horror on their faces once they’d appeared amused him greatly.

“Severus, Lucius...my loyal followers. So long it has been, hasn’t it?”

“My Lord? It was Quirrell’s body you’d possessed then?” Severus questioned upon realizing he’d been fooled indeed.

“Yes...you see what I’ve been reduced to then? No matter, no matter. There are other means to secure my full revival after all.”

“You mean to use the girl? To have her serve as the means of your return before killing her?” Severus had a look of barely restrained scorn on his face at the idea. 

He merely scoffed at the idea.

“Of course not, you _fool_. The girl is useless to me when there are more suitable methods at hand. The diary Lucius, I trust you’ve kept it safe all these years as I instructed?” At the blonde’s nod he continued. “I must be rejoined with the pieces of my soul if I am to prevent the madness I suffered at the end of the war. It is fortunate indeed, that the girl herself absorbed that piece of myself into her own soul, purging the madness from affecting her as it interwove itself into her being.”

“So my theory was correct? The girl is indeed one of your Horcruxes?”

“Very astute Severus. She is one of two that shall be left intact as they are. Nagini is safe within the manor. Therefore the girl is in no uncertain terms to be allowed to come to harm.” Both men looked relieved at that.

“I see you’ve both become fond of her as well, that will suit my purposes well for when I begin bidding for a change in the way the pathetic Ministry functions. She will be a powerful ally if her loyalty can be won.”

“Actually, my Lord. I believe that will be easier to ensure than you anticipate. The girl already distrusts Dumbledore after learning he’d been using her family’s wealth for his personal goals while planning to turn her into a sacrificial hero in the bid of destroying you. She has confided the fact that should my loyalties be proven towards you, as they are, my Lord, than she would not feel betrayed by said allegiance. I believe given time she would gladly ally to your goals willingly.” Voldemort was not easily shocked by things in life but the news that the ‘Girl-Who-Lived’ would potentially be a willing ally within a few years had left him speechless.

“There is the other matter, my Lord, of her shard genetic trait with yourself.”

“ _ **WHAT?!**_ You mean to tell me the girl is a Parselmouth as well as a _living Horcrux_?!” At the man’s nod “ _Show me!_ ”

The memories his followers both had of the girl speaking to her familiar shocked him as he peered through their minds. ‘ _She is a rather rare thing after all..’_

“This could not have proven more fortunate a turn of events than I could have _imagined_. The girl is _**crucial**_ to a number of plans I’ve assembled over the years that, until a second Parselmouth appeared, were left unable to proceed. The girl will prove instrumental to our victory in this war indeed. Lucius, bring the Diary at once. Severus, the diadem found within the Room of Requirement is needed as well. Look in search of the place of lost things. The locket and cup will have to wait until the other’s can be freed from that fetid rock, but those first two along with the ring shall go a long way in the restoration of my soul. But first I require a body of my own.” The men had nodded in acknowledgement at their orders.

“Severus, I will require a vial of the girl’s blood.” He pulled the vial he’d been studying the moment he was summoned from the girl’s prior stay in the hospital wing, attempting to discern exactly what caused it, from his robes and presented it with an explanation of the events that lead to its procurement.

“ _Excellent_ , you have proven most resourceful indeed dear Severus.”

* * *

A week had past from that day and he now possessed his former, younger, body once more along with more of his soul than he’d had in years. Lord Voldemort was no more. But neither was Tom Riddle who he had revived under the name of. Instead the figure that stood in the now dormant ritual circles with the remains of Tom Riddle's diary, the Guant family ring, and Rowena Ravenclaw's diadem was an amalgam of the two. From the Dark Lord's ashes, Thomas Slytherin had emerged... 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fairly small chapter this time but a very important one for the future of this series. Things are picking up now and the next chapter jumps to the end of year one for Harriet and her ragtag little family and the start of her first summer with Sirius lol. Expect an appearance from everyone's favorite dungeon bat who refuses to allow Harriet to skim on her Alchemy studies, even though she'd never even consider the idea of doing so herself lol. We also see the first signs our our tiny snakling being a budding badass at some point in the upcoming chapter lol. 
> 
> And yes, the basilisk is still going to make an appearance in this series at some point despite the chamber not actually being a threat anymore. How exactly is for you all to find out, but rest assured Naga's gonna be doing his damnedest to try and stand up to the creature lol. My precious little guard snake is too prideful and arrogant to not at least try and stand his ground against a 50 foot monster of a snake lol.


	11. New journey's and new adventures

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's the last chapter of part one! Thanks to all the viewers who left comments on this story. They bring a smile to my face seeing someone actually enjoying this ragtag story lol. Next part will be Harriet's 2nd year of Hogwarts and the 2nd part of this series overall.

The rest of the year passed by in a haze for Harriet. Dumbledore had returned upon their return to classes at the end of the holidays, a near constant suspicious look in his eye directed at her whenever she met his gaze in the great hall.

Exams had approached faster than anyone expected them to and Harriet had thanked the heavens, fate, and several other cosmic forces at Lucius’ Yule gift to her being the only reason she’d even been able to write legibly during her tests, her nerves had been shot straight to hell.

Her surprise was still with her as she packed the last of her clothes into her trunk and Naga’s blanket-turned nest. She’d managed to earn top marks in her Charms, Potions and surprisingly DADA classes and exams. Hermione had earned the remaining top spots in History of Magic, Transfiguration, and Astronomy. Draco had scored highest in Flying class to the surprise of absolutely none of them, and Neville to the surprise of no-one had earned top in Herbology.

Professor Prince had even given her a mock up exam for Alchemy, which he’d graded using the OWL scale and she’d earned in his slightly biased opinion an Outstanding in her use of a more complex elemental transmutation charm she’d begun developing the last two months of school, and the 2 feet of parchment she’d written explaining her theory behind the spell she’d demonstrated by using it to turn the water in a goblet into solid dirt before it then burst into flames until she’d extinguished the spell leaving an empty goblet. 

So she may have just invented her first alchemy based spell on from her own understanding of the subject most alchemists couldn't comprehend properly due to it's complexity during her free time. Whoops.

‘ _At least I now have a better idea for the spell I want to try creating for the judges at the Department of Alchemical Regulations in a year or two. Maybe I can come up with a more lethal version as well for auror’s to use when facing dangerous criminals._ ’

Professor Prince had a smug look on his face when she’d told him about how she’d invented the charm herself using a mix of practical charm principles and the theory of Elemental Transmutation that she’d proven highly skilled in over the last few months when he’d asked where she even found such a spell in the first place.

* * *

She was currently sitting in her room within Grimmauld Place after departing King’s station with Sirius. Her trunk had been emptied of its contents for the first time in nearly a year, Naga had settled into his silver snake laden nest before promptly falling asleep.

She’d taken out her notes on her test spell and was working on applying the theoretical solutions she’d need in order to even attempt to add the missing element that her current version lacked.

 _‘Why is air so hard to figure out?! It’s **air** _ _! Literally the most basic elemental in basic Alchemical theory and I can’t even get it work!’_

“I’m going insane at this rate. Maybe Uncle Sev' can figure it out since I can’t seem to..” She’d heard the barked laugh from her dad coming from her opened door, noticing him looking amused.

“Please tell me you haven’t said that to his face yet! I want to get a picture of it when you do it the first time.” She rolled her eyes at the man’s humor.

”The first day of summer, and you’re in here doing homework? You are most definitely Lily’s kid that’s for sure. She was always so strict about that stuff, always studying for some exam or practicing some spell until she got it perfected. You really are similar to her in that regard you know?” He informed her as she snorted out a laugh at the mention of her mother.

“No, I haven’t said it to his face yet. I actually want to keep my tongue outside of a jar, thanks. Also yes, I did know that actually. Severus talks about how I’m apparently like a clone of her when it comes to school and stuff I’m passionate about.” He nodded his head in agreement.

“So what are you up to in here anyways? Is it anything dark? Should I get the camera! ‘Harriet’s first homemade dark spell’. Severus would pay to see that I think.” She was laughing at the mental image.

“For your information I’ve cast multiple dark category charms and jinxes by now, thank you very much. The Black family Grimoire is filled with them, unsurprisingly. Plus the spell I came up with for my Alchemy exam is technically categorized under being Dark Magic.” He just pouted.

“And you didn’t get me a picture of you hexing some random student who was annoying you? I’m offended, my dear Harriet.” She tossed a pillow at him as they both burst into laughter as he flinched back in mild shock as it hit him in the face.

“Actually, I’ve been working on my own spell for Alchemy based on the one from the exam.” He walked over to where she was seated at her desk, looking down at her notes from over her shoulder.

“Right now it causes whatever I cast it on to undergo the first three states of Elemental Transmutation: water, earth, then fire. But I can’t for the life of me figure out how to get it to incorporate air as well without the alchemical formula part of the charm falling apart before it’s even cast.” She explained to him, having gone through several rants about the subject matter to him through letters over the school year. 

If he had just so happened to have taken the extra time to study up on the specific branch of alchemy she was so passionate about in his free time without telling her well, no one could fault him for wanting to be properly supportive of his daughter’s interests now could they?

“Have you thought about trying different therum for the wind component? One that could integrate itself into the already stable version of the spell you have now?” She looked at him like he’d grown a second head. “What?”

“Where did you learn that? Because it’s actually pretty bloody brilliant now that I think about it. In fact…” She’d turned back to her notes, scribbling something down in what looked oddly like Latin with a mix of- ‘ _Is that Runic Norse?! Where in Merlin's name did she even learn something like that?! She’s 12!_ ’

While Sirius was questioning the apparent source of his daughter’s blatant tri-lingual skills, the girl in question was scribbling down notes on a particular wind-centered alchemical theorem that would actually remain stable in the existing spell while allowing for it to cycle through each of the 4 elemental transmutations smoothly and without fail in a repeating loop of water, earth, fire, and air while muttering about dogs being the best at alchemical breakthroughs. 

She turned towards the large goblet that was sitting on the desk, filled to the brim with water from a mild ‘aguamenti’ that she’d picked up from Professor Prince’s lessons during the year, a slight modification allowing it to remain more controlled when she cast it. She _was_ 12 after all and it _is_ a NEWT level spell at the end of the day.

‘ _No need to risk flooding the place over trying to fill a glass of water or Naga’s water dish.._ ’

She cast the newly modified spell and the two watched as the water quickly dried into solid dirt before bursting into flames and then extinguishing in a gust of wind before refilling the goblet with water and lopping in on itself again.

“It works! It actually bloody _works_!” She hugged her dad before turning back to the still cycling goblet. “Now that that’s out of the way, I have to figure out the potion to apply to actually stop the damn thing from cycling for the next week.”

“Language.” He tsked, attention still on the perpetually transmutating goblet. She just rolled her eyes slightly.

“I just pulled off a charm that’s never actually been done before Sirius. I’m gonna be excited over it and you won’t stop me from doing so.” She stuck her tongue out at him as he was reminded of the fact that his 12 year daughter just achieved a breakthrough in the history of alchemy.

‘ _Called it. 14 and going to have her Mastery. Even if I have to drag the judges here so she can get it_.’

It was when Severus entered the room a half an hour later to discuss the subject of her upcoming homework that he stopped in his tracks at the sight of the shifting goblet.

“Miss Black, did you just create a perpetually cycling elemental transmutation charm in _a wee_ k?!”

“Technically I’ve been working on the theory of it for 2 months now Professor. Sirius actually helped me figure out where the flaw was in the original regarding the air theorem. By any chance could you give me a hand with coming up with the potion to counter the effects? I’m not sure I have the skills at this point to actually brew the thing without it either poisoning the air and killing us all or blowing up the potions lab in the basement.”

The potion’s master reluctantly went with the two, Sirius carrying the goblet along with a levitation charm, as they entered the lab in question. Nearly a full 4 hours later and more than a dozen failed attempts, they’d managed to piece together a potion whose composition would negate the effects of the alchemical side of the charm rendering it inert.

“Well Miss Black? What are you planning to name your first never before created spell and potion? After all, I was only responsible for sorting out the nature of the ingredients you were not aware of yet. IT would hardly be fair to take credit for the matter” She thought about it and came up with what she thought was a rather fitting pair of names considering the reason it actually worked now.

“The touch of madness charm. I think it’s rather fitting considering the two who worked to come up with it, don’t you think Professor?” She pretended not to notice the misty eyed look on her father’s face at the reference to their shared family's rumored madness. “And the draught of liquid sanity for the counter potion to it.” She found herself engulfed in a bear hug from her father at that.

* * *

She’d spent the next month of her break finishing the rest of her classes summer homework and making slight changes to her newly coined spell, though she’d need to wait for an opportunity to test it on an actual test subject in the middle of a duel first to know if her modifications took hold like she’d hoped.

Sirius had roped Naga into his plans for her first birthday away from the Dusley’s, the giant Viper eager to conspire with the man behind his Little Speaker’s back.

Hence her being woken by an airborne Jeweled Viper landing on top of her. 

“ _What the hell?!_ Naga! What are you doing?! Trying to give me a heart attack?!” The snake just hissed out a laugh at her exaggeration before looking towards the door to her room where the words ‘Happy 12th Birthday Harriet’ were blazing in blue light in the middle of the air.

“So I get a dive bombing Viper as a wake-up call? And how did you even go flying through the-” It was then that she remembered reading about Jeweled vipers sharing their cousin, the Horned Serpent’s, ability to fly through the air once they’d reach adolescence. “You mean I have a flying 7 foot long teenage snake now that can spit hallucinogenic venom at people? That’s actually kinda badass now that I said that out loud.”

~ _ **Yess** **...I can bite otherss from the sky now…**_ ~ 

~ _ **Of course that’s what you’re worried about. You and biting people is becoming a worrying train of thought for you to keep having**_.~

~ ** _Quiet Little Sspeaker. I will bite anyone that threatensss you harm…_** ~

~ _ **Well at least they have to be a threat first. Just don’t go around randomly launching yourself at people from the ceiling just because you’ve apparently developed the ability to do so.**_ ~

He just huffed out an annoyed hiss at her apparently ‘spoiling his fun’.

She got dressed a few minutes later and headed down the stairs to see what trouble Sirius had most likely gotten into with Kreacher over the man’s attempts to make her birthday cake himself.

* * *

The sight of her dad caught in a choke-hold by their centuries old irritable house-elf as he had reached for the cupboard full of cake pans was not one she had anticipated walking into that morning.

‘ _They’re both lunatics…_ ’ She thought to herself as Sirius collapsed to the floor, gasping, as the elf strangled him slowly.

“Kreacher! Get off of him now! You can’t just strangle Sirius every time he wants to try and cook something. I actually prefer him alive thank's.” The potentially about to be murderous elf looked up at her from where Sirius was stretched out across the floor, one arm clawing at the floor in her direction as the other tried to unhinged the elf’s arms from around his neck as his face steadily turned a deeper shade of red.

“Kreacher, don’t make me tell Walburga you’re trying to murder her son. She’d be annoyed with you for making her miss it.” That seemed to snap the elf out of his murderous attempt to avoid Sirius’ baking efforts. The man let out a gasp as he gulped down lungfuls of air once the elf had released his stranglehold on the man.

“Apologies, Mistress. Kreacher lives to serve you and the house of Black. It is not my fault your Lord father attempted to threaten that by attempting to touch an oven.” She rolled her eyes at the overdramatic elf’s comment about Sirius’ lackluster previous efforts at cooking. _Well_...

‘ _The man did somehow burn a pot of oatmeal before actually putting it on the stove…_ ’

“It’s not,” gasping once more while rubbing his neck and glaring towards the bloody homicidal elf. “My fault I never learned how to cook before I ran away and ended up thrown in prison! My parents’ refused to teach my brother or I anything like that.” Kreacher just glared at him from the stool he has stood on, probably thinking about how _he_ was the reason they didn’t need to learn in the first place.

“And that’s why you’re not allowed in our kitchen alone **_ever_ ** again anymore. Not after the oatmeal fiasco I’m _still_ trying to figure out how you even pulled off. I can’t even manage something like that with alchemy, and I have a bowl of water that set's itself on fire and turns into a block of ice every half hour!” He pouted at the mention of being banned again.

“I just wanted to do something for your birthday, like baking a cake without magic. I didn’t even touch the damn food! I reached for a pan and got attacked by this mad elf!” He pointed an accusing finger at Kreacher who didn’t look amused at all.

“That’s sweet Sirius, and I greatly appreciate the idea, but we have rules for a reason and I’m not letting you burn down our kitchen because of it. Now go bring the presents I know you hid under the floorboards in the 2nd floor bathroom.” He just gaped at her casual mention of his ruined hiding spot. 

“What? I’m 12. I know how to snoop for things people try to hide. Plus I had a free afternoon while waiting for the calming draught to settle.” She’d been brewing the stuff in large quantities to help better manage her steadily worsening anxiety in the wake of her alchemy and chams research over the summer. Turns out trying to invent highly complex spells that could result in leveling the area within a square mile of the building while said building it turned into a pile of enchanted ice due to the slightest mistake was bad on her nerve. Who knew?

“I still don’t think it’s a good thing that you know how to brew that potion so well at your age..” She just shrugged her shoulders at his concern.

“I was bored one day back in March and found the notes for it in one of the more advanced potions books in Severus’ office. Seemed useful to memorize with my test anxiety. Only so much this does to help.” At this she waved her left wrist in the air briefly, the silver charm bracelet rattling as the charms clinked against each other, the original three now sporting modified rune etchings to enhance their strength, courtesy of Draco, as the three newer charms sat beside the strengthened memory enhancing book, nausea blocking potion bottle, and wand that defended against a growing arsenal of spells. 

‘ _Charms really are neat._ ’

A small silver triangle with a line bisecting horizontally that possessed her own version of a modified wandless enhancement charm she’d read about in the book Narcissa had given her at Yule that would help her do several spells based in alchemy wandlessly, since they'd normally require complex and time consuming wand motions to pull off regularly.

The small Raven with its wings spread mid flight had a corresponding truth detection charm on it that was stronger than the effectiveness of Veritaserum when she was talking to someone face to face, meaning they were physically incapable of lying to her and were in fact left unaware of even having revealed the truth’s they’d attempted to keep. That was a personal favorite piece of spellwork she was rather proud of weaving into it, the look on Professor Flitwick’s face when she showed it to him for her extra credit assignment at the end of the year was worth the hassle to make the damn thing in the first place. Especially when he commented about possibly having just qualified for her Charms Mastery by complete accident in the charm’s creation. Oops.

The silver wolf charm was her personal pet project she was currently experimenting with. The charm on it was meant to mask the wearer’s scent by mimicking that of a wolf, _theoretically_ allowing for someone to be in close proximity with a werewolf the night of the full moon without coming to harm. It was especially personal to her, thinking of her godfather’s cruel treatment by most of society, and she was going to make damn certain it worked without fail one way or another.

 _‘I’m not letting you be alone anymore in life Remus. Not when you actually have family who care about you. I’ll figure the damn thing out somehow. Sirius won’t be the only one able to help you soon enough.’_ She thought to herself.

They moved on with celebrating the rest of her birthday, Kreacher avoiding having any further reason to make another murder attempt on Sirius. Her friends had each sent her separate books on different dark charm’s from different countries around the world once she’d started reading through the books from Kreacher’s present from Yule and realizing some of them were damn helpful. 

Sirius’ had given her a new necklace to match her bracelet, the small charm apparently providing an immunity to different types of love potions because ‘No fame greedy boy is going to be drugging my daughter while I live.’ She rolled her eyes at him, but was thankful for the gesture even though it was unlikely Naga would let anyone close enough to her food to spike her with a love potion in the first place.

Aunt Cissa and Uncle Lucius had sent her a silver ring bearing the Malfoy family crest depicting a white peacock in full pride ‘ _The man was getting even for her yule gift she just knew it!_ ’ on a green and silver shield, the words ‘ _Sanctimonia Vincet Semper’_ inscribed on the inside of the band. A note mentioned that it was also a portkey linked to the Malfoy family manor should she ever need to visit for any reason or just if she needed a break from Sirius. Reciting the family motto while running her thumb across the crest activating it while she thought of going there. It would also never accidentally fall off her finger unless she physically removed it herself, an added compulsion blocking charm making a nifty contingency. 

Sirius pouted at the mention of possibly needing an escape from him of all people, but she assured him she would only use it in that case if she was planning to prank him or something which had her father barking out a laugh and commenting that she really was a marauder’s kid.

Looking at the even larger looking box of dark chocolates with an added box of assorted Honeydukes candies for her to try from Dobby had her questioning just how serious the elf’s plans actually were for spoiling her with sweets. ‘ _I haven’t even finished the box from Yule!_ ’ she thought of the barely half eaten box currently sitting in her trunk’s stasis charmed potion compartment.

Kreacher had surprised her with a silver hairbrush bearing the symbol of a crow that was apparently owned by Sirius’ mother’s last and had been passed down through the House of Black since before they’d even settled in the British isles nearly a thousand years ago. ‘ _For the heiress and future Lady of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black…_ ’ 

He mentioned that it was jinxed against being used by anyone not with Black blood in their veins to start screeching if they attempt to use it themselves along with causing their hair to turn a bright gaudy shade of pink, but it was one of the only things outside a specific spell in the Potter grimoire that would actually help manage her unruly hair.

She hugged the irritable elf at the thoughtful gift, ignoring the shocked look on his and Sirius’ faces at the act.

Mr. Flamel and his wife Paranelle had sent her a bright fiery orange lily that their note mentioned was enchanted through alchemy to change its colors as the seasons shifted, and would never wither or die so long as she left it in sunlight at least once a week, plus it's shed petals that were dropped once per seasonal change were useful ingredients in several more complex potions. She wiped at the tear that had appeared at the reference to her birth mother.

‘Uncle Sev’, being the great big dungeon bat and antisocial git that he was, had sent her his personal notes on various silencing jinxes and different hexes to ward of ‘irritating dunderheaded Gryffindors’ according to his note in the form of a small notebook the man had put together himself. She made a note to test some of them on Sirius the next time he tried getting her away from her alchemy research and charms experimenting to ‘ _go outside and be an actual kid by getting some damn fresh air for once_ ’. Her dad was a Gryffindor after all and the note _did_ say…

* * *

The day she and Sirius went to Diagon Alley for her schoolbooks once her letter had arrived was for the most part a fun affair if only just from the trip to Burgin and Burkes she’d talked him into so she could look into their hexed antiques. ‘ _Maybe I’m getting a bit_ too _into dark magic thanks to Kreacher_ …’

It was decidedly less fun when she’d nearly been forced to hex Gilderoy Lockhart’s nauseating pale blue robes to burst into flames when he tried getting her to pose for photos upon spotting her in the crowd looking for her books. 

It was only when Sirius had his wand jammed into the fool’s throat with a threat of hexing the man silly himself if he so much as laid a hand on his daughter that averted her untimely addition to the Daily Prophet’s gossip blog through clothing arson.

‘ _If I ever see that man again I’m jinxing his precious hair purple!_ ’ She grumbled to herself as they exited the book store, grateful her dad hadn’t been forced into a situation where he could get tossed back into Azkaban for _actually_ committing a murder.

“Thank goodness Hermione wasn’t here today or she would have jinxed the git as well. She hates the man’s books, last time I saw her so much as look at one it’d promptly burst into flames with a comment about it’s author being a 'two-bit fraud'.” She muttered to Sirius, feeling relieved her friend hadn’t been in a situation where she could have been in trouble for assaulting celebrities in a bookstore..

* * *

The rest of the summer passed quickly after that day, her trunk currently packed full of her schoolbooks and clothes along with Naga’s nesting blanket for once they were at Hogwarts and shrunken down before being tucked into her pocket, her wand in its holster on her right arm and bag around her shoulder, notes on her summer research safely secured for Professor Prince’s and Flitwick's evaluation.

~ **_Let’s get going Naga, the Express waits for no-one and neither do the student’s you’ve been wanting to terrorize again._ ** ~ She hissed to her annoyed Viper who reminded her that he was **_not_ ** a morning person.

  
~ **_Fine Little Sspeaker. But there had better be an extra rabbit waiting when you return to your room at the stone palace…_ **~ Oh right, she’d forgotten the fact that Naga had gotten more bossy after his time with Sirius Black of all people. She rolled her eyes at her demanding snake and they headed down stairs where Sirius had guided them through the floo in the kitchen and moment’s later they were bidding each other goodbye until she’d be returning for Yule in 4 months. Then it was onto the Hogwarts Express and the start of her second year…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So who are you guys betting on Lockheart getting hexed by first when everyone find's out he's the new DADA teacher? My money's on the dungeon bat honestly.
> 
> We're entering the first major divergence from the canon plot regarding Voldemort and the chamber lol. Let me know what you guys thought about this chapter in the comments section, I always look forward to reading your thoughts lol.


End file.
